Seeing Double
by WiccadBaltane0501
Summary: Gaara is visited by a messenger spirit before he leaves for the Chunnine Exams. He is instructed to find Sakura, and with her help he can defeat the strongest enemy he has ever faced. With the Shukaku flooding his mind with temptation and the need for secrecy ever present, Gaara will attempt to combat his deep rooted instincts of seclusion in order to understand his warning.
1. Alternate Mission

_**Seeing Double**_

_**Alternate Mission**_

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter Start**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Suna **_×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Gaara sat on top of the wall that surrounded his home village and meditated. He sat cross legged with his hands folded together in his lap, and his gourd placed away from him to lessen the strain on his back while he relaxed. The wind was blowing lightly around him, carrying the scent of the desert and calming his senses, he was in his element. His mind was deep set in the far stages of meditation he had mastered over the years. Due to his accursed demon, the horrific thoughts and images it could conjure up and make him see kept him from sleeping at night. Dreams of his death would flood his mind, his secret and worst fear would be shown to him. While he was in the unprotected state of sleep his demon would control him and wreak havoc all the while eating away at his sole, making him less and less of person. But when meditating, his mind was at rest along with his body, but he was still alert and aware of the world around him. It had been almost a year sense the last time he had slept, and because of this he was very emotionally unstable, snapping quickly and finding annoyance in the smallest things. From the far corners of his mind he could swear he heard the demon chuckle, finding amusement in his temper. He chose to ignore it. He and his sorry excuse for a family were given a task to take over the Leaf Village during the Chinnine exams, he had to meditate and rest his body as best he could so he could perform his task with absolute perfection; he had a reputation after all.

The wind began to pick up and he felt as though something was a bit off. Cracking open his eyes he tried to quickly shake the deep state of relaxation his body was in. The air grew colder than normal and the wind whistled in a way that was strange to him. Then, from out of nowhere, his sand shot up around him as if someone were attacking, before it froze in place, still as stone. Gaara's eyes shot open and he tried to move his body only to find he was immobile. He tried to move his hands from their place but found it impossible. His senses went on high alert, panicking at the feeling of being unable to move his own body. He was set in stone and could not move or find the strength to speak. His eyes darted around trying to find the cause of this but instead, found something much more interesting, and worse.

Everything started to change as he watched. His world began to adopt a bluish hue, and his body had the strange sensation of floating. The air blew more slowly and the noises of the desert and the life it held began to grow distant and tie together with everything. The buildings edges became fuzzy and moved, like waves in the ocean. Gaara stared at his world as it changed. A part of him wandered if he had been caught in a genjutsu but he still stayed calm. The normal dark sky started to grow lighter and lighter in a white glow before him. Then in a flash there was a creature sitting in front of him. It looked like a mixture of a tiger and a wolf. Its body looked as though it had caught fire and blue and white flames emitted from its body. It had dark blue eyes with what looked to be blue and white fur, and its body was massive. It sat before him and stared down at him, a wise and knowing stare if he had to place it.

Gaara glared at the beast, with its size and the fact that his sand was not working, it could probably do some damage. The fact that his sand wasn't working in and of itself had shaken him. Without any movement from the beast, a voice echoed through the air.

"Gaara Sabaku."

'How does it know my name?' he wondered.

"I welcome you to the spirit world" it said calmly.

'Spirit world?'

"I am a messenger come to tell you something of great importance" the spirit said. "You are the man with the sand spirit sealed inside his body, and because of that, our worlds have collided in a way they were not meant to. You were not meant to be, your existence was not meant to happen in the ways that have taken place. But because of what you are, a bridge between our worlds has been formed and because of this I have been able to come and warn you. You, Gaara Sabaku, have the power to restore order in the chaos that will occur in the near future"

'Dose that thing mean the Exams, why on earth would I do that? I am that chaos.'

"You must choose if you think you have the will to defeat an enemy most powerful. I am but a messenger sent to warn you, and tell you that the world you once know, is about to change. Forever." The spirit got up from its sitting position and moved fluently toward him. He was still unable to move and his sand was still frozen in place. The spirit was standing directly in front of him and it lowered its head to his. Gaara's forehead bumped against the beasts and he felt a deep pulse surge through his body before he felt himself falling in a long plunge. Gaara then was blinded by a flash of white before he saw something, himself. Only it wasn't him. He looked sickly, his skin was a clammy pale, the veins in his neck were a pale blue and slightly visible, and his eyes were bloodshot and full of lust for carnage. His hair wasn't the vibrant crimson red it normally was, it was the color of dried blood, sickly looking and messier than normal. His face was contorted into a feral grin that showed teeth with elongated canines. He looked psychotic. It was him, but not him. Then he saw someone else. He saw her. She was shorter then he and they stood side by side. His body twitched with anticipation and hers was heaving with her deep, breathy snarls. Her eyes looked like his, only less demonic. Her lips were curved into a savage grin and her skin matched the appearance of his. Her veins were visible in her throat as well, along with her small wrists and ankles. Her hair was a sickly dark pink color, bordering on the edge of a shade of red, and her eyes were a deadly vibrant green. They had dark, shadowy borders around them and they looked bloodshot as well. He had never seen her before her. There was blood all around them, dripping off of his hands and staining her clothes. The picture horrified some part of him, but it excited the other parts. The ones that over the years had become dominant.

'What is this?' he thought, shocked at the vision that was displayed before him. Mainly because the girl was there, and he seemed to not care that she was killing his kills and the fact that she was still alive.

The spirit pulled its head away from his and Gaara was forced back into reality with a huff. Well, what was supposed to be reality at least. The spirit started to burn in front of him, flames consuming its body, deteriorating it into nothing.

"It is your job to decide whether or not you will prevent that future from becoming reality. Find the one who will stand by your side, and show the world how they were wrong about you." With that, the spirit left. The flames flickering into nothing, his world losing its bluish hue, and the little waves on the buildings dying into nothing, until he was once more in the world of man. The sudden need to move came over him and he shot from his sitting position, his sand flying at the spot where the spirit had been, finishing what it had been trying to do before being frozen in place. Looking around frantically he panted heavily, surveying the area. The spirit was gone, there was no evidence of it ever being there in the first place, and the air was still. Gaara was alone again, left to think about its words and the vision it had shared with him.

'What the hell was that?'

'Don't you know what it means to get visited by a spirit?' his inner demon whispered.

Gaara waited before he replied. 'What?'

The demon quietly chuckled. 'They only visit this world when things go wrong' he whispered slowly. 'When the balance is thrown off. It was right you know, only because you meditate can you see into that world. And only because of me'

'If it means being with you I wish I couldn't' he thought bitterly. The demon only snickered. 'What did it mean by that anyway? And what was up with that vision?' he demanded.

'All in good time, the answers will come when you find her,' he said with desire just dripping from his voice.

'Find who?' he demanded once more, his patience wearing thin.

'The one who will stand beside you of course. And until then, tell no one of what you have seen,' the last words of his voice echoed in his head as the demon retreated back to the dark corners of his mind.

The image of the girl was burned into his mind. He stood and looked out toward the desert in the direction he knew would be the Leaf Village. He would find her and get this annoying feeling of dread to leave him once and for all. The girl looked fierce and feral, just like him. But something about that look didn't fit her, but he just couldn't place it. He smirked to himself and quietly chuckled in his dark and sadistic way, maybe this could prove to be entertaining.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Konaha**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Sakura laid in her bed tossing and turning. The Chunnine Exams were only a few days away and she didn't know if she was ready to take them. She had the best chakra control in her squad and the best in a lot of her friends and what was now being called 'The Rookie Nine', she was smart and knew a lot of things that grown men and woman wouldn't, and she had been trying to tell herself that she was brave and strong. She knew that Sasuke and Naruto really wanted to though. She knew they wanted to move on and become stronger. She did too, but she wasn't as skilled as they were. They were her team, she didn't want to disappoint anyone, especially Sasuke. She wanted him to think the best of her. Not that she was weak and annoying. She curled up into a ball and tried not to think of the harsh words he was capable to saying to her. Like 'your annoying', 'your too weak', and 'why can't you keep up?'. They all hurt so much to hear from him, but in order to seem stronger she tried not to make it seem like they got to her. She put on a face and tried to be cool about it. Why she was so in love with him even after all he did was still beyond her.

'Why can't he just say he can tolerate me?' she thought sadly. 'All I want is for him to at least like me, is that too much to ask?'

She sighed and tried to keep the tears out of her eyes as best she could. Burying her face in the pillow she tried her best to sleep. She had only two days until the rest of the villages arrived to take the exams, she had to decide whether or not to go before then. She felt everything get fuzzy as she concentrated on deep thought and relaxing her body. Soon enough, she fell asleep.

Her dreams were filled with the things they usually were. Her team on missions, school work and tests that she had aced, and other various things that normal people wouldn't really dream about. She was at peace for once and her body was relaxed and unaware of anything around her. She was sitting at the training grounds with her team and watching in content as Sasuke and Naruto argued over something totally ludicrous. She sat next to her teacher as he read his normal book and ate her lunch. She noticed the wind picking up and looked around. It had an ominous feel to it. Looking back at her team they seemed unaware and kept on doing what they were doing. The sky started to darken from its usual light blue and turn a grayish color. Sakura felt very uneasy and paranoid all of the sudden. She watched the sky change color and watched the once white and fluffy clouds turn into a curtain of black swirling ones. Frantically looking at her team once more she found that they were gone, and the last remnants of their voices was echoing away. Then everything changed, and she looked on shock, and new found fear.

She was no longer in the training fields with her team just enjoying their presence, no, now she was in what looked like a battle field. The ground looked burned and the trees looked dead, there was smoke in the air and blood splattered on everything. The wind whipped around Sakura wildly and she looked on in confusion and horror. Everything seemed fuzzy, as if seeing it from an out of body experience. The bodies that littered the ground were soaked in blood, some twitching, moaning in pain and begging for death that would not come to them, while others were cold, still, and lifeless. Sakura took a step back from the scene and took a shaky breath. She tried to scream, but couldn't find the voice, like she was unable to. Backing away, trying to get away from this madness, she tripped over something behind her and fell to the ground in a huff. She looked frantically at what it was that tripped and finally found her voice. A bloodcurdling shriek echoed through the dark night. Sakura looked on in udder horror and unspeakable fear at what she had fallen over. It was herself. Her body was covered in blood, her clothes were torn and her hair was matted. Her body shook as she tried to weakly crawl away from the carnage. Her eyes looked almost dead and she was emitting weak and quiet sobs and please as she slowly crawled and slowly started to die. Just then, the sobs stopped and were replaced by quiet, broken, screaming and please for life. There was person standing next to her. Sakura looked up at who it was and couldn't believe her eyes. It was her, again. Sakura was having an out of body experience and was watching herself being killed by another her. Only the other her, looked very different. Her hair was wild and darker, her body was covered in her victims' blood, and it heaved with heavy breaths and quiet chuckling. Her eyes were psychotic and had dark coloring around them, full of what she could only place as lust, for death and blood. Her skin was pale and clammy looking and the veins in her throat and wrists were visible. She looked like she should almost be, dead. A psychotic grin formed on her face and a dark chuckle escaped her lips as she moved her foot to rest on top of the others head. At the same the Sakura lying on the ground let out a shriek. Sakura saw in shock as pressure was added to the foot against her head. A cry was heard as the other her begged for life, but the sadistic thing that was causing the pain only laughed and pressed her foot against her head with more force. Sakura looked away covered her ears while she shook. She heard the last echoes of a scream before she felt herself being splattered with wet, warm blood.

Sakura shook, and tried to get up and run away. She stumbled and almost fell over bodies and branches of trees. Then she fell. She hit the ground hard and looked at her ankle. There was a man, a bloody man holding on to her ankle and pulling her towards him. He was moaning in pain and looked terrified. She screamed and tried to shake her ankle from his grip but he held on tighter. He dragged her closer to him but looked as though he was using her to drag himself away from the stop he was in. Sakura sat up and gripped his and with her smaller, shaking one and tried her best to loosen his grip. The man's eyes widened and he yelled and screamed. Sakura was scared and confused as the man clawed at her legs, trying to pull himself away from whatever it was he was afraid of. Sakura looked beyond the man while she tried to kick him and saw what looked like sand coming out of the trees. It wrapped around the man's foot and pulled him toward the trees as he dragged her with. Sakura kicked violently trying to get the man to let go. Finally with a kick to face the man's grip loosened and she quickly recovered her foot. She scooted back and came to stop against the trunk of a bloody tree. She looked at the man terror as he was dragged away into the shadows of the trees, where there was an audible crunch, then the man fell silent. Sakura felt as though she was going to be sick.

There was death all around her. She had watched herself being killed by herself if it was even possible. And now she had a man she didn't know try and cling to her for life, only to be crushed in the shadow of the trees. She saw the cause of the man's death walk from the trees. Hair the color of dried blood, skin and visible veins that matched hers, a demonic look in his eyes and a terrifying grin on his face. His hands dripped in blood and his clothing was stained in it. He walked toward her and she cringed, sure he was coming for her next. But he just walked past her, as if he didn't even know she was there. Looking around the tree she found him walking toward the other her, and she was walking toward him. They met and looked around at all the blood and bodies. They looked satisfied and fired up, sadistically happy with what they had done. Then Sakura's eyes met hers, she felt her fear rising to a whole new height as she grabbed the redheads hand and pointed in the direction of the tree she was behind. Sakura whipped around to cover herself from view and closed her eyes tight, sure that this was going to be the end of her. She heard a soft rustling sound and her snapped open. The man was right in front of her, kneeling with his arms resting on his knees. He was close, too close. She could feel his breath on her skin and plainly see the smirk on his face. With a rush, sand shot up from behind him and headed toward her. She cover her head with her hands, curled into a ball, and screamed.

Sakura shot up in bed and gasped. Looking around her room she sprung out of bed and frantically examined her body. There was no blood. Her eyes darted around her room and she found there was nothing there. Looking out the window she found her village at peace, just like every night. Sakura breathed heavily and her body still shook. She had never had a nightmare like that in her life. Who was the guy? Why did she kill herself? Why was that even happening? The thing that was supposed to be her looked nothing like her normal self. And the guy she was with, they looked as though they were working together to kill all of those people. Suddenly the visions of the dream and all that blood and dead bodies flooded her mind. She ran to her bathroom quickly and leaned over the toilet. She had never seen so much blood I her life. It was sickening to think that even though it was only a dream she had a part in causing it. The bodies were horrendous and she knew the smell of blood and rotting bodies would be almost toxic to breathe in. with one last heave she finished emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet. And being that she hadn't eaten since dinner there wasn't much. She was basically dry heaving half the time, which left her a sick feeling in the back of her throat and a headache.

'It's alright Sakura just calm down, it was only a dream' she thought trying to calm her body.

'Yeah, a dream. The scariest fucking dream you've ever head!' her inner countered.

Sakura silently agreed. Sakura still felt the sickly feeling in her stomach and decided to wait it out on the floor of her bathroom. She pulled the rug that was in front of the sick to be in front of the toilet. It was a little fluffy so she could lay on it and be a least slightly comfortable. She curled into a ball but didn't dare going back to sleep and risk falling to the dream again. She laid there and tried not to think of the dream, and think instead of her friends and how they would never let anything like that happen. It was only three in the morning, and was going to be a long wait till dawn.

'I'll just have to wait it out I guess' she thought as she tried to make herself more comfortable. But the image of the redheaded man still stayed in her mind and refused to leave. Who he was she didn't know, but she felt some part of her recognized him. But a large part of her didn't want to. With the way she felt now, she welcomed the Chinnine Exams if it meant a distraction from the images that were burning themselves in her mind.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter End**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

**This is the revised version of the original story. Sorry for the long wait. **


	2. In The Flesh

_**In The Flesh**_

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter Start**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Sakura walked with her team through the streets of their village in silence. She was really just listening to her teammates argue and babble. Mostly Naruto though, he kept going on and on about how he was going to kick so much ass in the upcoming exams that even Sasuke would beg for mercy. Then Sasuke would counter it by saying some odd thing of him being annoying and that he couldn't even beat him in his dreams. They argued, and fought, and insulted. Sakura sighed in content. Everything was as it should be. Then she heard their voices got louder, and Sasuke's voice was suddenly gone. She looked around sure enough he was gone, and Naruto looked very upset. Sakura inwardly groaned. Why couldn't they just get along?

"Well who needs him anyways?" Naruto whined folding his arms and frowning.

"Naruto," Sakura said in a dangerous tone. "If we are going to do these Exams together for the next couple of weeks I expect you and him to get along you hear me?" she said, glaring at him. She really wasn't that mad, but if you didn't seem mad at him it never reached his brain through that thick skull.

"Uh, y-yeah Sakura" he said scratching his head. "Whatever you say" he laughed nervously. She sighed and turned from him only to see a little kid trying to hide behind a sheet made to look like the fencing. And the boards were facing sideways instead of up and down.

"Uh," she pointed to the cloth and look skeptically at Naruto. "What's up with that?"

"Oh? Konohamaru? What do you think you're doing?"

'Oh great' she inwardly groaned. 'It's the Hokage's grandson who won't leave Naruto alone. What does he want now?'

"Heehee!" the child giggled from behind the cloth and then moved away from the wall with a smile. "Just what I'd expect out of you, boss!"

"Well," Naruto leaned back and assumed a very macho stance. "I do take pride in what I do best."

Sakura leaned against the wall and looked up at the clouds, trying to drown out the noises of the two boys babbling on and on about how great Naruto was. How conceded can you get? Focusing on trying to find shapes and designs in the clouds was working to get her mind at peace and she started to relax, that is until they started to talk about her.

"Heehee, so boss" Konohamaru said in a hushed whisper. "She's got to be your girlfriend right?" Sakura's eyes snapped open.

'What?!' her inner screeched.

"Yeah, I guess you could say she's got the hots for me!" Naruto boasted.

"What?!" she yelled, glaring at the two of them with a deadly energy emitting from her body.

"Uh, n-nothing Sakura" Naruto stammered stepping backward.

"Tell me what you said, now!"

Konohamaru didn't seem to understand why Naruto was so different all of the sudden and chimed in. "Your his girlfriend because you got the serious hots for the boss here!" he said with a grin.

Sakura walked forward and stared at him. "Who told you that?" she asked sharply.

"Well the boss of course!"

Sakura glared at Naruto and charged at him. Her, like Naruto? It was absolutely unheard of. Naruto dashed away from her down the alley and his little minion fallowed.

"Naruto get back here!" she shouted. Naruto sped up as Konohamaru passed him. Then they stopped. Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. Catching up to him she saw what he stopped for. Konohamaru was being held by the collar by a man dressed in black. There was a woman with blond hair standing next to him. Konohamaru was struggling in the man's grasp but he only gripped him tighter.

"Hey put him down!" Naruto yelled, rushing at the man. The man only smirked. Naruto fell over and Sakura rushed over to him and helped him up.

"Kankuro put him down," the blond said lazily. "We don't want any unnecessary attention"

"What?" Kankuro whined. "The little brat should watch were he's going"

"Hey it's my fault, I'm sorry" Sakura said. "Just put him down, he didn't mean it"

"Yeah you big jerk!" Konohamaru said as he struggled against the larger man's grip.

The smirk that crossed the man's face was mischievous to say the least. Then, the man dropped him. His grip gone, Konohamaru fell to the ground and ran over to Naruto and proceeded to hide behind him.

"What the hell?" Kankuro groaned as he held his hand and looked up towards a nearby tree.

There Sasuke sat, tossing a rock into the air. Sakura felt her heart flutter. 'Sasuke to the rescue!'

"I don't take kindly to outsiders picking on the children here" he said coolly, catching the rock in his hand and crushing into powder with the greatest of ease

"Why you little brat!" he turned in Sasuke's direction and glared. Sasuke merely glared back.

"Kankuro," the man froze in place. "Stop fooling around" the voice said calmly. It was coming from Sasuke's direction and he moved to stand on the branch.

"G-Gaara!" Kankuro said, looking a little off now.

'What's his problem?' Sakura thought.

Just then, a flurry of sand appeared in the middle of the ally way. Sakura sucked in a sharp breath as a man stood in front of the other man and woman. She felt her body grow cold, and her throat contract into that sickly feeling and her knees got weak. It was him. The same blood red hair, the same piercing eyes, the same clothes, he was just, the same. The man from her dream, that killer who had murdered the man that had clung to her legs for life, the one who had almost killed her, was standing right in front of her. Sakura started to shake but did her best to contain it.

'He's a real person?'

Gaara looked in the direction of the team that had caught his brothers' attention and froze. It was her. The girl from the vision. The same hair, the same height, the same clothes, the same everything. But her stance, and that face. They were off. Her stance looked timid, unsure and afraid. Her eyes held fear and disbelief. She was looking at him, but quickly diverted her eyes. Their eyes met only for a brief second before she looked away. Was she afraid of him?

'She should be, they all are' he thought bitterly.

'I think this is different,' his demon whispered.

'What do you mean?' he demanded, only to be answered by silence. He inwardly glared at the girl. This was the fierce, crazy looking, and blood covered person who had helped the other him commit the untold amount of deaths showed to him by the spirit? She couldn't be. She looked frail, weak, and shy. Even her appearance was different. She looked healthier. Her hair was more natural looking, her skin wasn't so clammy and sickly looking, but alive and vibrant, and her eyes did not look sleep deprived and bloodshot. She looked healthy, well-kept and taken care of. She almost looked his opposite. But he took care of himself and he had also appeared in the same way during the vision. But why was she so afraid if all she had done was glance at him? It normally took a little more than that.

Sakura too stared in twisted awe at the person before her, the killer from her nightmare. Until he looked at her. He glanced her direction and his gaze seemed set in stone as she quickly diverted her eyes away from his. Her body still shook but she was sure no one else could tell. This wasn't supposed to happen, it was only a dream after all. Right?

'Well apparently not honey!' her inner spoke out. 'That guys right in front of you, and he won't stop looking at us!'

It was true, he was looking at her still. But from her peripheral she could tell that he was confused. Shocked maybe. He looked her up and down and she felt shivers under his gaze. The shivers were cold, and unsettling. But they strangely had a comforting edge to them... She couldn't even believe the thought herself but, they were. It was the product of sheer power radiating off of a person. The knowledge that in times of crises, one would be safe in the presence of that person. But this shiver was not of power, not entirely. There was power there, yes, and raw power. She could sense it. But there was something else. She couldn't place it, but she knew that the power didn't come from extensive training. There was a danger to him that didn't fit your average, deadly ninja. It just seemed to roll off of him. Her heightened chakra abilities also allowed her to sense the chakras of others better than your normal person, better then Naruto, or even Sasuke. She could sense an illusion a mile away and she could sense the danger and power of this man better than ever. There was a natural deadliness that fallowed this man that could scare the living day lights out of her, and was. No man should have the power that he seemed to have at the Genine level. She never got this feeling around her teacher, around the Hokage, or any other high ranking official. But now, in the presence of a stranger, it was overwhelming her.

'What do I do?' she thought frantically.

'Uh, we try not to attract any more attention and get our asses out of here!'

'Good idea.'

Sakura went to turn around when Naruto stopped her by grabbing her arm. Jumping slightly she turned to glare at him.

"Sakura, tell this big jerk that he can't come in our village for no reason and pick on the kids here!" he yelled pointing in the direction of the three across from them.

Sakura cautiously glanced over to the group before something caught her eye. They all had Sand Village headbands. They weren't from the area, and that could only mean they were here for the, "Chunnine Exams," she said quietly to herself.

"What?" Naruto blabbed. "What are you going on about Sakura? That has nothing to do with what I said!"

"Naruto shut up!" she yelled before turning back to the trio in front of her. "Your here for the Chunnine Exams right? Then I welcome you to our village and hope your stay is wonderful," she said as sweetly as she could. Naruto and Sasuke on the other hand, were appalled.

"How on earth can you say that!? If these nit wits want a fight then we should give them one for what they did!" Naruto yelled as he glared at them.

"Naruto I said stop it!" she demanded as she grabbed him by his sleeve and began to drag him away down the alley. "We don't want any trouble got it?!" she hissed, he hastily nodded his head when it finally dawned on him that she was serious. Sasuke sighed and disappeared as Sakura pushed Naruto around the corner. Leaning against the fence she let out a sigh and slid down, happy to be out of the view of that man.

"Sakura I would have taken him!"

"No you couldn't!" she hissed as she grabbed his color and pulled him down to glare at him on her eye level. "I don't care what anybody does alright! If they start trouble let the professionals take care of it! Don't go picking fights with people we don't even know inside our own village, especially not now! There are going to be ninja coming from all over and the last thing we want is a fight between villages!" she spat. Naruto went wide eyed before backing away nodding his head.

"Alright Sakura, you seem a little tense though, how about you go and get some rest. Sorry for disappointing you," he said quietly.

"Naruto no," she said getting up. "It's not that, I'm not mad I swear it's just, we don't know these people and I don't want you getting hurt," she pleaded. The image of Naruto being one of those dead bodies that littered her dream filled her head and horrified her mind. She quickly shook it away and continued. "I'm not sure what's going to happen but the last thing I want is my team being hurt for no damn reason. Please, take care of yourself?" she asked, hoping it would get through his thick head.

"Alright Sakura. I'll do my best," he agreed with a grin. "But I was serious though, you go and get some rest," he added as he walked away leaving her alone in the ally.

Sakura looked out into blank space, that man was out there, and he was real. He tried to kill her and seeing him in person proved that he just might try again. She laughed nervously to herself. Try and get some rest? "Hn, I'll try,"

Gaara sat hidden in the midst of leaves. He had been sitting there ever since he got to his apartment with his siblings. Once he set his few things inside his siblings went to go find their sensie and he moved to the tree that was outside his building. The spot gave him good view of one of the main streets that ran through Konoha. A Street, which the pink haired girl needed to take to get home from the ally. He had been fuming over nothing watching the people go about their daily lives unaware that their own meaningless existence could be swept away whenever he so pleased. It disgusted him really, they were all so happy and unaware of their own impending doom that they didn't even bother to look around for any potential danger when their village was going to be filled with ninja from other villages. They were going to be all but surrounded by what was a potential enemy and all they could do was go about their daily lives, seemingly unaware and blissfully ignorant. A flash of a pale, yet seemingly vibrant color captured his attention. The pink haired girl, apparently her name was Sakura, was walking down the street looking content and unaware of his presence. He had heard her talking with her friend when she shooed him away from ally. She had told him to be careful and not get into any unnecessary fights. He had almost wanted to laugh at this. That teammate of hers was going to get himself killed, and he wanted to be the one to do it when the time came. But if he were truthful with himself the girl in herself had piqued his interest. She seemed shy and skittish around them, frail and breakable. But in the vision the spirit showed him she looked wild and sadistic. There was no way she could be the same girl. He watched as she walked down the street weaving fluently in and out of the crowded area.

'Maybe I should fallow her and see for sure,' he thought to himself. Upon getting up to quickly get back in the apartment through the window he left open he heard his inner demon quietly chuckle in the dark corners of his mind.

'Or maybe we can test it, and see if she really is that girl,' he whispered.

He knew what the demon meant, he wanted to go and try to kill the girl, to see how long it took, and how easy it was. He wanted to spill the blood of the person that had been shown to him. It was all he thought about half the time, filling his head with thoughts of blood and carnage. He normally complied and did the demons bidding, more than happy to end lives of innocent people who had no fault in what he was, or even knew of him. But not this time, this time could wait. Even if only for a while.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter End**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×


	3. Mr Sandman

_**Mr. Sandman**_

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter Start**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Sakura slept silently as the sun finally disappeared behind the horizon. Gaara sat on her roof. Her house turned out to be a lot closer to his apartment then he had thought. He waited until he was sure she was fast asleep then quietly crept down off of her roof onto her window sill. Using a few grains of his sand he sent them through the small cracks in the wood and unlocked her window. Gently sliding it open as to not wake her, he opened it just enough to fit his body in then slid into her dark and quiet room. He shut the widow quietly and locked it once again. Looking around her room quickly he found her room to be very simple. She must not spend much time in here. Glancing over to her in her bed he stopped, and starred. She was balled up in fetal position facing him with her long pink locks falling lightly over her face. Her lips were slightly parted and her brow was gently pulled together in the midst of her dreaming.

She was defiantly unlike anything he had ever seen before. Sure the pink hair was something that nobody had ever seen but, she looked so natural and peaceful, it sickened him to admit that he didn't really want to bother her. Unconsciously he stepped forward and leaned down to her, the scent of the cleaning products on her body and her bed was doing a great job at obscuring his sense of smell from detecting her true natural sent. He did have an animal in his head, and with that came the instinctual need to know what things smelled like in order to truly understanding something. Now normally just being in the close area of the thing was enough for his severely enhanced senses, but with her he felt like he had to get closer.

She groaned quietly in her sleep and moved so she was laying slightly closer to him. Not being prepared for the sudden closer proximity he shot back and braced himself against the wall, inwardly cursing that he had made so much careless noise. Sakura's eyes snapped open she shot up in bed, her loose tank top sliding down her shoulders she brought the covers up to conceal her body. Gaara stared wide eyed at the sight before him. Not only did the girl seem more vibrant and alive when startled, but the position of the covers and with her sleeves hidden from view, if he had not known better, she would have looked like she was naked under the thin blanket. He felt his throat dry and his stare set in stone on the way that the thin blanket clung to all the right places on her body. He had seen women that were classified as "sexy", and "gorgeous", but this, to him, was something else. The demon inside him stirred in its new interest. He shooed it back to deal with the situation at hand. There were no other chakra signatures in the house, they were all alone, her calling for help would be useless, he just leaving would mean she would tell people of him, although with no witnesses there would be no proof unless he hurt her. No, no he couldn't do that now could he? She was supposed to be important somehow.

"What are you doing in my house?" she yelled. She threw a pillow in his direction and he simply moved aside. She crawled back on her bed as far as the wall would let her.

He gave her a blank stare and told her the truth. "Watching you sleep," he said simply.

"Get out!" she screamed. Her voice wasn't so much afraid of him, but more shocked and confused.

He stared at her blankly as she tried to find something to do with herself. Finally pulling up the sleeves after just realizing that they were down, she blushed madly. Gaara couldn't decide whether he liked her action or not. The thought of her being naked was thrown out the window and he kind of had to admit that a part of him, a small and sickly twisted part of him missed it, but another part welcomed the way the deep pink and slightly crimson blush complimented her features. Trying to regain her composer with the blush still on her face she pointed a finger in the direction of the door, her look telling him to leave.

He stared at the door and then glanced lazily back at her. "No," he said flatly. "I'm not leaving, not yet."

"What do you mean? What do you want here?" she demanded in a high panicked voice.

"You. I want you."

Sakura felt her heart almost beat right out of her chest when he spoke those few words. "What?" she asked quietly, her wide eyes glued to his. They peered deep into her being, as if he were searching her very core for signs of weakness that were already littered across her face.

"Look," he said darkly. He walked toward her and set his hands on the side of her bed, leaning in to tower over her. "I don't fully know why myself. But some fucked up thing happened to me and now all I know is that something terrible is going to happen. Why I even care is beyond me, but what I got out of it is that for some reason I can't set it right without you. I need you Sakura," he said slowly, making sure that he didn't need to repeat himself.

"Well I don't know who you are but last night I had a dream were I watched me kill another me, and then I watched the me who killed the other me go up to you and tell you to kill me," she said with a strained voice. Her eyes began to fill with tears as her thoughts streamed from her head and out her mouth. "And I had never seen you before and now your here and I didn't think you were real because it was just a dream and I just don't know what to do!" Gaara drew his brow together in confusion at her little ramble of words. It seemed she had a vision as well, but hers in the form of a dream.

'Well that would make sense seeing as how she has no demon,' the voice whispered. He inwardly agreed and heard his demon curse in the back of his mind.

'What now?' he asked slightly annoyed at the want to get back to the girl who sat on the verge of tears in front of him. He was not please in the slightest with his unnatural urge to actually, dare he say it, help this girl. He wanted to be angry with her and kill her for her weakness, but the thought of her from the vision kept him close to her, almost wanting to comfort her.

'I can't tell through of these artificial smells in this house, I want to know what she smells like!' he ranted. Gaara mentally rolled eyes

Sakura took a deep breath and forced herself to hold back her tears. She was scared, confused, and her mind was contemplating everything that had been happening. Gaara wanted to ask her if there was anything he could do. And that fact just pissed him off. He hated caring for people, and he himself was not going to be doing that anytime soon!

"You know what?" she said, throwing her hands up. "I can't deal with this right now."

Gaara moved so she could hop off her bed and quickly make her way to the bathroom. She slammed the door shut behind her and he heard a click as she locked it behind her. Gaara smirked for multiple reasons. She had not fainted in fear of an intruder in her home when she was alone, she had yelled at him and fought back her emotions in front of him, she had apparently forgotten she wasn't wearing any pants, and his favorite; she thought a tiny little lock could keep him out of a room. At this thought he heard her turn on the water for the shower. The image of her under the thin blanket with her tank top straps hidden from view entered his mind and his demon turned an eye toward the bathroom. He felt the creature smirk in his mind before it charged forward and slammed into the bars of its cage. Gaara felt the force of its impact on the cage full force and fell forward as if someone had shoved him from behind. He clutched his head, it throbbed and ached. He looked up through his messy bangs and glared at the door. Something about this girl made the creature in his mind act out more than normal. The Shukaku's claws ripped at the bars of its cage and pushed up against them, all the while Gaara feeling everything in his mind. He roared at the demon to stop and hesitated for a moment before he got up to brace himself against the wall, panting. Anyone who thought that Gaara never felt pain had no idea what it was like to have a demon who wanted to get out its cage inside their mind.

'I want it,' it said, determined and hysterical, its lips pulled back to bare sharp teeth and quivered in anticipation. Low hisses echoed in Gaara's mind, leading him to the loss of control.

'NO!' his own voice echoed in his head and the demon stopped his clawing and sank back a little never taking its gaze off the bathroom door. Steam leaked out from under the door as the light from the bathroom slightly illuminating its travel up to the ceiling. She was taking a shower, with him just outside. The image of a foggy glass shower and clothes scattered across the bathroom floor flooded his mind as the demon purred in delight, showing him images of what it wanted. Gaara ripped his gaze from the door and sat on the floor gripping the carpet to keep him in place.

'No,' he repeated. 'You can't have her. We need her alive'

'Oh,' the demon sighed in amusement. 'It's not her blood I want. I want something softer, warmer, something that can be cherished longer.'

_'You're_ getting the stupid war at the end of this little game. _I_ get to decide what we do with her!' with that last command the demon snarled and reluctantly sank back into the dark depths of its cage.

Gaara sighed with relief as the pressure and pain left his head. The fragrant of her shampoo and conditioner floated in his senses and he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, relaxing his body to the calm, absent minded soft humming that came from the strange girl in the shower. He tried his best to ignore the way his throat dried at the thought of the foggy glass and messy cloths piles of the floor. The demon had a way of showing the most unwanted images to him at the worst possible times.

The humming and the shower had stopped and Gaara turned his head lazily to the door, waiting for her to emerge.

Sakura slammed the door behind her and sighed. She looked around the bathroom and her eyes settled on her small shower.

'Maybe I could,' she started to think.

'You must be joking right?' her inner added sarcastically. 'He broke into our house and a little lock isn't going to keep him out of the bathroom if you take a shower.'

Sakura thought for a moment then stepped forward, locked the door behind her and slid her panties to the floor. The thought of Gaara being just outside the door, in her house, and them being alone still shook her to her core, but somehow she felt like he wouldn't just waltz in the bathroom if she was going to get naked.

'Nothings stopping him you know,' her inner added lazily.

'I don't care,' she countered. Before her inner could protest she shut her out and rid herself of her tank top and undergarments and started the shower. The water as warm and relaxed her tense and stressed muscles. Even though the stream of water did relax her for the most part, it was never able to shake the way her muscles went rigid at the power the she felt rolling off of his body.

'Why is he here?' she thought desperately, as she wiped a cloth over her body. Soap and foam spilled from it to fall slowly over her skin. She rubbed her and legs feverishly, as if trying to wash the fear from her body.

'I don't know,' her inner persona added once again in a lazy tone. Nothing seemed to keep her interest that long. 'Apparently neither dose he.'

"That's right," she said aloud, quietly. "Why is he here if he doesn't know?"

'I don't know sweetie,' her inner said in a low voice, sharing in her containers confusion. 'Oh, by the way,' she added sweetly. 'You ran out of hot water when you last took a shower.'

Sakura's eyes snapped open, and sure enough she had been standing under the flow of what felt like ice water. She yelped at the harsh change of temperature and quickly shut of the water. Stepping out she wrapped the towel around her dried off as best she could. Trying to yank on her underwear with her legs still damp was proving to be very frustrating and she plopped herself down on the floor with a huff that sounded more like a whine. She would never know, but from outside the door Gaara heard her struggle and chuckled to himself. The girl he had seen so fierce and bathed in blood was now on the bathroom floor struggling with something, though he himself did not know what, that seemed so miniscule and unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Inside the bathroom Sakura had managed to get her panties on and pulled the tank top over her head. She looked around quickly as she dried her hair for her shorts.

'Ahem, did you forget that you didn't wear any tonight?'

Sakura stood still, the towel still clinging to her wet hair. A thought crept slowly through her blank mind and seemed to echo to its far off corners. She had walked out of bed, in front of Gaara, without pants on.

Oh hell.

She blushed like a mad woman and tried her best to swallow her embarrassment. She quickly ripped the towel from her hair and wrapped it around her waist before she threw the bathroom door open. She refused to look at him seeing as her blush was still plastered to her face, but gathered that he had moved to sit on the floor.

'Oh great,' her inner said in light sarcasm. 'He's still here.'

Gaara turned his head to look at her as she exited the steamy room. Once again, that part of his mind that was more twisted then the rest missed her lack of cover for her lower half, but once again welcomed the deep blush that radiated from her cheeks. He released his hands from her carpet as she stalked over to him and quickly bent over to pick up a pair of shorts she had lying on the ground. When she finally looked him in the eyes, her look told him everything he needed to know.

Turn around, I'm putting these on.

He obeyed and stood before turning around to face the wall. Why he had done what her eyes had asked was far beyond him. Maybe it was the way her blush seemed to stir the demon in his mind in a way that he was not used to, or the way she pointed at the wall behind him when he hesitated before turning as if expecting her demand to be fallowed, or maybe it was the way that her eyes only held a glint of the fear that he would have seem in anyone else's eyes.

'Or maybe you're getting soft,' she demon whispered from its corner of his mind.

Gaara glared at the wall. 'That's unheard of,' he thought in disgust. After all it was. Him, Gaara, getting soft? It was the most preposterous thing the demon had ever mentioned.

When Gaara heard her towel from her waist drop to the floor he turned to face her. She was sitting cross legged on her bed facing away from him brushing violently through her hair. He could feel her frustration and slight anxiety emitting from her body. For some strange reason he did not - nor did he care to - understand, he felt like making that sour feeling vanish from her presence. It was very much unbecoming of her. She seemed unaware as Gaara subconsciously lifted a hand to touch her soft looking vibrant, wet hair. Before his fingertips could get close enough to feel the warmth of the shower on her skin, he realized his actions and pulled away. This girl was getting to him and he hated it. He hated her for it. Or that's what he tried to tell himself.

Without turning to him she spoke in a low even voice, though it took much effort on her part to keep it even. "You should leave."

"No," he stated flatly. "I'm not leaving, not yet."

'Not yet?' she thought. 'So he will be leaving sometime right?'

She sighed in frustration. Getting off the bed and turning around to face him she found that he was closer then she had thought. Quickly disregarding the fact she straightened herself up. "Gaara," she said sternly. "That is your name right?"

He nodded once.

She looked him dead in the eyes, which she found a little hard to do, and spoke sternly once again. "Gaara, get out of my room."

He gave her a taunting look and added sarcastically, "Shall I go wait for you to finish up in the kitchen then?"

She tightly closed her eyes and looked to the ground in frustration. How difficult was this guy? "Gaara," she said dangerously. "You know that's not what I meant."

He looked over at her door then back to her window, trying to determine his two options; stick around, or leave. Making up his mind he turned to her door and headed for it. "Well then I guess I'll just see you downstairs," he said in a relaxed tone. He reached the door and effortlessly turned it and drew it open. "Oh, and Sakura," he said turning to her. The look in his eyes coupled with the way he spoke her name sent shivers and chills up her spine. "I don't enjoy waiting all that much, so if I were you, I would hurry," he said in a taunting tone. But he shrugged his shoulder and turned to leave. Thoroughly enjoying the thought of the entertainment his little game would prove to dish out. "Just food for thought." And with that he left her alone in her room. Shaken and by herself. She had gathered enough to know that this was a game to him. And she was his prized pawn now. But the real pawns in the grand game that was yet to come were yet to realize exactly how helpless they were in the way the near future would play out. And the master creator of this game would just have to bide his time, until the perfect opportunity to set his grand masterpiece in full motion.

But for Sakura, Gaara's own little game had started, and if she wanted to see herself through to the end of it, she would have no choice but to play along.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter End **_×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛


	4. Afternoon Reading

_**Afternoon Reading**_

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter Start**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Gaara waited in silence for Sakura to make her way downstairs. He had been waiting for a while and was quickly growing impatient. Anger and frustration were growing quickly and possibilities of how to go about ripping the offending girl upstairs to shreds ran rampant through his mind. But to his surprise his demon had been staying quiet ever since he had left her presence. The beast seemed to show no interest in in the way Gaara was thinking about this young girl. He shared no interest in killing the girl, not even a suggestion about what to do to depose of the body. He said nothing, and Gaara was in silence with his sinful thoughts. He scowled at the wall that was opposite him and the sand stirred in his gourd that he had moved inside. It sat leaned against a wall and the quark moved, the sand beneath it wanting to escape its confinements, wanting to react to its master and do his bidding. Or more so his demons bidding; rip apart things, or people, to be gorged in blood, and to make its master feel alive once again. It wanted to do what it had always done; kill. But no, Gaara - even though he hated himself for it - commanded his sand to settle. For some strange, and utterly ludicrous reason, he needed this girl.

He was going to lose it any minute now. He himself was pissing himself off! Why did he care about this? Why did he need to see her last night? Why did she have to not fear him like the others? And why was his stupid demon so damn interested in her when he didn't even want to kill her? He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before rubbing his eyes. It had been years since he had slept and due to his travels he hadn't even caught a light doze in months. Not to mention with the chunnine exams and now this, it had been days since he had meditated. Hid body ached with the stain of constant work, his eyes were sore and hurt, his feet hurt like no other, and his joints were starting to ache in a very sickly way. Once again, for those who thought Sabaku No Gaara never felt pain, they had obviously never had to go days, weeks, or even months without sleep. After depriving your body of something so needed your body turns on you. It was like it was punishing you for abusing it so harshly, for treating like a worthless piece of trash that didn't deserve such a luxury as sleep. He was exhausted, and hungry, and confused, and...and...at peace.

Gaara drew his brow together as he stared at the once offending wall in thought. At peace? How could that possibly be? No one like him could ever be at peace, his mind and body was a battle ground, his heart a shriveled up shell of what one would normally find in a so called human being. It was cold, and hard like a stone. But he was relaxed and felt comfortable in this house he was not familiar with.

'Why is that possible?' he questioned himself desperately.

Once again his demon chuckled in its cage. 'She's the one.' His statement was simple, short sweet and to the point. It was no question now that the demon approved it.

Gaara's eyes went wide and he stared at the stairs as he heard her make her way into the kitchen. This girl was capable of killing men and being covered in blood while sharing in his demonic look? It was impossible. Sakura appeared in the doorway with her eyes low to the floor and weariness in her step. Just as quickly as his expression came, it vanished, leaving behind his normal emotionless and stoic features in its wake. She slowly, tentatively, lifted her eyes to meet his. However his cold gaze sent to her back to looking at the floor.

"Why are you still here?"

"I told you I wasn't going to leave."

"This is my house Gaara," she said finding the strength to look up at him. "You're not even from my village, you can't just barge in here because we have this treaty, and you have to leave."

He glared at her and she instantly regretted her words of choice. He walked forward away from the counter and stood with danger just rolling off of him. "You have no right to tell me what to do. I will stay here until I see fit to leave, understood?"

Sakura took a breath and nodded quickly. "Yeah, sure." With that she walked away from him and quickly made her way into the living room and flipped on the T.V., inwardly cursing herself when she felt him follow her. She sat on the farthest end of the couch and he sat on the other end of it. He felt his demon smirk as Sakura tried to discreetly shift closer to the edge of the couch.

"Sakura?" he asked, amusement dripping from his voice. "Why won't you sit next to me?"

"Oh I don't know," she grumbled. "Maybe because some guy I have never met before decided to break into my house and is now refusing to leave."

Gaara smirked, amused in his little game with her. She was quite entertaining to mess with_**. "**_Touché."

"You know that you could get into a lot of trouble for this right?" she asked looking over at him.

"I know, but do I care? Not in the slightest."

"Why not?" she said with a burst of her temper as she turned to him. "I don't want to be associated with a person like you! Why one earth do you not care what your village thinks of you?"

"Because they don't care about what I think, or anything about me for that matter. They want me dead, they want me gone. I'm just a mistake to them that they want to forget." Sakura's eyes softened and she listened to him as he told her his answer. An answer she had not expected in the least. Why would a village be so ashamed of such a great ninja? "To me, the angrier they are at me the better."

"That sounds awful," she said quietly looking into the cup of tea she had quickly grabbed from the kitchen.

"It sounds like their stupid." His statement was cold and bitter.

Sakura felt the familiar uneasy chill snake up her spine at his hard words. "Why?" she dared to ask.

"Because they know that if they piss me off too much I'll kill them all."

Sakura bit her lips as she stared her reflection in the colored water of her cup as she thought about this. She did not see the way Gaara's eyes fallowed her move as he watched her think. He was fascinated with those eyes of hers, they could plainly display the emotions that others were afraid to show, such as fear itself, and even anger. And towards him, it was something to read into.

She took a breath and looked up before forcing herself to look over at him. "Gaara? Why are you here? Like seriously, why?"

"I was told to find you."

"Well yes, but why?" she urged him. "I'm really nothing special."

'That's not what I've heard,' he thought dryly. He could feel his demon nod in agreement. "I don't know, I just needed to find you."

She sighed and shook her head. "Ugh, you're much too vague."

"And you're too talkative."

"Hey!" she exclaimed whipping her head back to him with a fire in her eyes. Gaara stared at her, unfazed by her outburst. There it was again, the fire in her eyes that made her different. The fire that burned with a demonic blaze when he saw her drenched in blood. Maybe this really was the same girl, maybe she was somewhat capable of killing alongside of him. "That is an insult."

"Yeah, I know."

"Get out." Her voice was flat and serious, too bad he didn't give a rat's ass.

"No."

"Gaara, get out of my house now!"

"I just said no." he replied calmly, restating in his voice that he had no intentions of being kicked out.

"I _will_ call the authorities on you," she tested, seeing if the threat held any response in him.

He offered a rare chuckle at this and smirked at her. "Go ahead and tattle on me, I'll kill em' all when they come."

Sakura shut her mouth at his blunt reaction. "Fine!" she said getting up from the couch. "But I'm going to have to leave soon for training, and when I do you can't stay here."'

He shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Good."

There was a short pause and in this time Sakura fidgeted with her fingers and decided that sitting there so close to his being and constant river of chakra flowing out of him and spilling to the floor just might drown her if she stayed too close for too long. She stood and tried to ignore his eyes as they followed her back into the kitchen. She poured herself a cup of coffee from the pot she kept on a timer for the mornings she was too lazy to start it herself. With just a little crème and sugar it smelt like heaven and savored the warm feel of the mug on her hands. She leaned against the counter and took a sip. It was only until she opened her eyes after her slow drink did she look up and find Gaara standing in front of her across the kitchen.

"So when will you be done with training?"

'Aw hell...'

×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Later That Afternoon**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛

Sakura sat in the midst of her favorite medical book as the library. She had become recently fascinated by how the body worked and mended itself. It could be manipulated and drastically sped up with the right type of chakra control. The books held jutsus and symbols that she had never seen before. It had been weeks since she started her reading and she was pretty sure that this is what she wanted; to heal. She didn't want to fight people, or go to battle with an intent to kill. It wasn't her style, she wanted to help people who were suffering. It didn't matter what village they were from. Innocence should never be harmed in the wars between politics. But they were all the time and she felt as though her hands were made to ease their pain. It touched her heart to think that she could help people in the safety of her village like work at a hospital and still make a difference, while also traveling to battles and helping the soldiers fighting for their homeland.

She flipped the pages to her book and hummed quietly in the stillness of the library. There was almost no one around and she had all the time in the world to learn with the books and scrolls had to hell her. That is, until the exams start. Her heart sank at the thought of what she might have to do. Nobody had any idea of what the stakes were, the types of tests they were going to have to face or the dangers that would test their bravery.

She had almost lost herself in thought about the upcoming days when she caught a glimpse of something in the book she was looking at. A page number suggested at the bottom of an article on healing separate parts of the heart. It had a caption by it that said 'Hearts of those infused with a demon. See page 356'

She thought of Naruto and traced her fingers over the word 'Demon'. Flipping to the page she read over the articles. Everything was so precise, so detailed, and needed to be done with tentative care. There were subtopics about separate demons and different consideration that needed to be taken into account when healing their hosts. Do it wrong and you could damage the tissues with the raw power taken from the demon to heal its host, or worse – kill the host and set free the demon in their lifeless body. She read with cautious attention as she memorized hand signs and flow techniques, captured the pictures into her head locked them away. She needed to remember this, just in case Naruto were ever in trouble, then it would be her turn to save him.

Gaara sat on the roof of the library looking down at Sakura as she read and took scribbled notes. He was annoyed with her to say the least. She had told him she was going to training. After a quick stop at home for some coffee of his own and a small breakfast he left the apartment and set out to look for the training grounds. He had only wanted to observe and see her limitations for himself so he could know exactly how close to keep her during the exams. He had found three separate training grounds – none held her and hear team. Once he could not find any more he became frustrated and covered the town searching for her. It was no small feat and took him the better part of his afternoon. In the process he found her annoying little friend at the market in one of the vendor's tents, it looked like ramen. She was nowhere to be seen around him so he moved on. He found the Uchiha boy alone at a small clearing on the outskirts of town, training it looked like.

The demon stirred, whispering ways of using him as a stress relief for the fruitless afternoon of not finding the girl. He had made his feelings about the boy known as soon as he had saw him. He wanted him dead. Gaara was almost tempted to oblige to the beasts desires but knew better than to actually give in, Sakura needed her full team to participate in the exams. He would have to kill him later.

At one point Gaara found himself sitting on top of the Hokage monuments staring down at the city. It gave him a sense of power to be sitting so high and to be able to see so much of what he would soon concur. Everyone was so small and unaware. He was waiting for the wind to change. It was blowing from behind him and when it shifted all the smells from the city came wafting into his senses. The demon in his head took deep breaths of the air and sorted through all of the different smells and distractions. Nothing. There was nothing that reminded him of Sakura. He cursed his poor judgment. He should have taken the opportunities he had laid out in front of him to get her scent, her natural smell. He felt it deep within his mind that if he knew this it would be so simple to find her. But all the damn artificial smells that surrounded her, the coffee from her breakfast, the soaps and shampoos from her shower, the candles in her house, they all kept him from the fragrance that lay underneath.

He stood from his spot and stepped off the edge of the monument. Instantly his body dissolved into sand and spread out over the sky. Every particle of sand was a part of him and he covered the sky as he searched for her. It was some time later when he finally rematerialized on the roof of the library, glad to have finally found her. Trying to keep yourself straight when you're spread over an entire village drained him and made him feel misplaced and out of sorts. It was because of this that he tried to never have to do that. He only used this method to teleport short distances and become one with the sand around him if he ever had to ambush and enemy. He looked down through the windows on the roof and sure enough she was there, sitting directly below him with her nose stuffed in a book. He looked closer at what she was reading and found them to be medical books.

He stepped back, why would she be doing that? Medics were meant to help and heal people. Mend them back to their healthy state and save lives. The girl that he had seen first showed to care for life and looked as though this idea of helping others didn't even register in her mind. He created a small ball of sand, using his jutsu to create and eye connected with his own optic nerve. It slipped easily through the cracked open window and sunk down to hover above her as she read. He was actually surprised to see her reading on healing demon hosts. He felt his heart lurch in his chest.

'Could she know?' he asked the demon. 'Could she know what I am?'

There was a pause before the demon spoke his reply. 'No,' it said surly. 'There is a different reason for her interest in this. Since we arrived in the village I have felt another.'

Gaara thought over all the people he had come across in his travels through the village so far. He had not seen anyone like him, he had not felt the same vibe and chakra print on anyone as it was with himself. 'Who could it be?'

'Someone she knows, it has to be…'

It was at this point that he chose to make an appearance, again.

His sand swirled around him, tired from his search over the city, and slowly he started to melt away and file through the open window. The particles feel like rain silently behind her, building up into a pile in the form of a man, and slowly molding back together until Gaara was standing behind her.

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	5. No One Else To Bother

_**No One Else To Bother**_

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"How was training?"

Sakura whipped around to face him, obviously startled and stared wide eyed at him. His posture was cool and relaxed but it said nothing about how he felt inside. He was a rage. She had lied to him, caused him much trouble in finding her and in doing so drained him of most of his energy. He was going to have to do some serious meditation to get it back for the exams coming up. And, not only that, he had a gut feeling that he was going to have to compete with another host for her attention. It sickened him. He took what he wanted without question or remorse but attention had to be freely given. Who was this other host she reading these things for? It wasn't the type of topic one would look up for a lazy afternoon read.

She sputtered for a moment before the words were able to escape her lips. "It…it was canceled." She lied. "I thought I should catch up on my studies instead. What are you doing here?" she asked as she hushed her voice to a whisper as she looked around, searching the maze of shelves for anyone who might see them together.

"Looking for you." His voice was low and bitter, with a bite to it she had not heard before. A shiver quaked through her body.

"Okay," she said slowly, thinking over his word choice. "But why?"

"Because you were not where you said you would be, therefore I looked for you and had a hell of a time finding you. And you can't fool me," he stated matter-of-factly. "You never had practice today did you?" At his question her eyes left his and darted to the floor. Guilt. Even against someone she hardly knew her emotions were still plain as day. "Why did you lie to me?"

She squirmed in her seat and refused to meet his eyes, she couldn't bear to see that intensity looking down on her, judging her with disappointment. It was then, at that thought, that she remembered something. She lied to him because she didn't want him to know where she was. Even when he didn't find her at the training grounds he still didn't take the hint and leave her alone. She felt her temper rise and she snapped her head up at him. She stared at him as strong and stubbornly as she could. She wasn't backing down to him, it just wasn't happening.

"I lied, Gaara," she began with a bite spoken in mock sweetness. "Because I don't want you around."

His expression didn't change, but the words she spoke struck a chord in him, triggering a memory from his childhood. Back when he thought people could accept him. Back when he was ignorant and stupid. He saw the intensity in her eyes and it challenged him, she was standing up to him and if she could not _learn_ her place, than he would have to _put_ her in it one way or another.

His lips tightened and moved into a bitter, yet very subtle, scowl. His features seemed to harden with anger into stone, but his eyes were alive and wild. He gestured to the books at her side. "What are those for?" he demanded.

"Just trying to study," she said simply.

"Why the hosts?"

His question was blunt and cold, it gave her chills. "Never know when you might need it. I want to know as much as I can before I start school for it," she replied simply. Gaara wasn't buying it.

"You know someone who is a host, don't you?"

Sakura went cold. This guy was dangerous. Sure, to her he was just being bothersome and annoying, but she knew that he had power that she couldn't even begin to fathom. Could he know about Naruto and his fox? There was no way, he couldn't have told that just by looking at him that one time they ever encountered.

"No, it's just that I thought it was interesting and good to know. Better to know and never need to use it that need the information and not know." She saw that he wasn't buying her bluff. She shrugged. "Just precautionary."  
Gaara leaned down and spoke in a low and steady voice. "Don't lie to me Sakura, it isn't smart."

"Why do you want to know so badly?"

"Why do you want to hide it so badly?" he countered.

She rolled her eyes. "You know what Gaara? Go ahead, believe whatever you want. I don't care."

With that she shut her book and began piling them all together to take back to their spots. Obviously she wasn't going to get any more reading done with his hovering behind her like he always seemed to be now. She grabbed her books and turned away from him, walking away from him without even a glance back. Gaara didn't like this, not one bit.

"Don't turn your back on me Sakura, you won't like me when you do." His voice was dark and dangerous, it caused Sakura to waver in her walk at its low grumble. Gaara took notice of how it seemed to affect her. However, she stood her ground and kept on walking away from him, offering her own snide remark.

"I don't like anyways so why would I care?"

Suddenly she felt something wrap around her ankle and yank her to the ground. As she fell her books slipped from her hands and they – along with herself – fell into a soft landing of sand cushioning her fall and muffling the sound of her impact in the quiet library. It quickly pulled her back over to Gaara as she tried to jerk her ankle free. She shot him a glare as the sand shifted to prop her up and set her back on her feet. It swirled along the ground to pool in a pulsating circle around Gaara's feet. To see the sand move in action, on his command was something new to her, she realized that – in a sense – it behaved kind of like a dog. Loyal and protective of its' master and always by his side.

"Why do you hate me Sakura?" He asked simply. "I feel I have been very nice to you since I've arrived and just for that alone you should count yourself lucky."

"Well than you must not know what nice really is than, do you?"

"No." She was caught off guard by his blunt response. Nothing in his features changed, not in his eyes, his body language, his tone, nothing. It was as plain as day, she couldn't even laugh it off like a joke, he really didn't know what nice was…

"Well," she began slowly. "It's definitely not what you're doing now."

"Which is what?" he questioned. "Making sure that you're safe and well even though you continually make it clear you do not have the same concern for me? Spending all my time on someone I hardly know and you continually do nothing but make that harder for me?"

"Oh excuse me, but I never asked for you to be concerned about me or follow me around at all. You just did! And you said it yourself, if you don't know me than why are you always around? Don't you have other people to bother?" she spat at him, her words filled with frustration and annoyance at his complete lack of interest in her need of privacy.

"No."

There it was again, that damn blunt answer of his. But this one was different, blunt – yes, but also sad. It was then, when she saw the flicker of hurt in his cold eyes, that she understood that he was alone. He had said his village didn't like him but she didn't see it then, he had no one. She felt for him and that part of her that cared for the wellbeing of those around her and wanted to help cure that loneliness. She remembered Naruto once again, his childhood filled with the other kids teasing him and refusing to accept him. What they didn't understand at the time was that if Naruto wasn't what he was - if he didn't have the fox sealed inside of him - that very demon would have destroyed their home years ago. They owed him their lives, their homes, and they were too distracted by the beast inside him to see that. She wondered if Gaara had suffered a similar fate.

She sighed, knowing all too well that after that she couldn't just leave him. She couldn't live with herself if she had once again stooped to the level of spiteful ignorance. "Gaara," she said in a tired voice. "I was going to go get some lunch, are you hungry at all?"

He looked at her with hesitation and confusion. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I want to know if you want to come with me."

"You want to go somewhere with me?" he questioned, testing how the words felt on his tongue, they were strange and felt out of place. "Why?"

Sakura couldn't help but take pity at the confusion she saw in his eyes. "Because you have no one else to go with."

Gaara looked toward the doors of the building. She asked him if he wanted to be around her, giving him the choice to stay or to leave. Suddenly he wanted to leave, but not by himself. He didn't want to be out in the city amongst all those people, he wanted to just be around her. She was calming in a sense, even when she annoyed him, and he didn't want to share her presence with anyone else.

"Can we just eat at your house?"

She nodded. "Alright, I guess, but I have to pick up some food for the house. It's going to take me a little while." He looked her over skeptically and gave her a quizzical look. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I promise I _am _going to the market and not somewhere else okay? Go wait for me at my house if you want, I'll be there as soon as I can."

Gaara thought this over for a moment. "Alright," he agreed. "You have a 30 minutes before I come looking for you." Without any other word than that his sand began to flurry around him and within moments he had vanished, disappearing in a cloud of sand and evaporating into the air like a mirage

Sakura found herself standing alone with a pile of books slumped on the floor. She pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned. 'Danmit Sakura,' she cursed herself. 'What have you gotten yourself into?'

'Looks like its some fun with a crazy boy. Good one.' Her inner added sarcastically. 'At least he's a cute one, that's always a big plus.'

She's be lying to herself if she said she didn't agree. There was something about the way his dark red hair fell over his neck and above his eyes, layering lightly over the tattoo on his forehead, making the dark rings around his eyes seem feral and wild. And his eyes themselves, so deep and piercing with the most clear teal blue she had ever seen. He was tall for their age and lean with strength she hadn't even begun to witness or comprehend. His voice sent chills down her spine and the way he seemingly wanted to control made a small part of her want to give in to him.

She shook her head and let it thud against the wall behind her. "I'm doomed…"

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter End**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×


	6. The Game Of Cheat

_**The Game of Cheat**_

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter Start**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Sakura sighed and shook her head over the events of last night. She had brought home food from the market and found Gaara sitting patiently on her front steps. He was patient, but not happy. The first words out of his mouth demanded where she had been and why she took so long. Her excuse was the unrealistic time span she was given, and the fact that she didn't really care what time she got home, it was her house, therefor she could come home whenever she damn well pleased. This amused him to say the least. She tried to keep her pissed off façade but she were fully truthful she was getting used to him being around. Well, at least showing up out of the blue. He wasn't _bad_ company per say, he was quiet and content with just sitting around. Towards the end, however, he had been reluctant to leave yet again. She had convinced him that going home and not distracting themselves before the first exam would be a good idea. Something had happened though, there was a look in his eyes when he walked away from her house. It reminded her of a puppy, confused at why it's being kicked out of the house and put outside. To her, for just a split second, when he looked back at her one last time before disappearing in night, the lost look in his eyes made her want to go with him and not leave him alone. She felt for him, and she could feel herself getting soft, succumbing to the way he made her heart ache with pity and sympathy. He was special, she didn't know how quite yet, and he seemed hell bent on keeping most everything about himself very vague, but she knew that he was. It drew her to him and it seemed to be exactly what he wanted.

Shaking the thoughts from her head she looked down the street towards the testing facility. It was the first day of the exams, she was to meet upon with her team and wait for everything to finally begin.

"Sakura!" Naruto called to her from across lawn of the testing building. "Over here!" He motioned for her to join Sasuke and himself.

Sakura smiled and waved to him. Greeting her team they walked through the doors of the building.

Gaara was leaned against one of the desks in the testing room with his siblings slouched beside him. Though no match for him, his siblings were ninja to be feared across the Wind Nation, everyone knew the Sabaku family. Being children of power they were trained very young and very well. They held and air of confidence around them and it was easily distinguishable from the confidence of power and the confidence of ignorance. Many of the people in this room were ignorant. He looked around at all their smug faces and cocky grins. They had no idea what they were up against, absolutely no clue. He was able to find amusement in this especially with the knowledge that in the end he would get to concur something they could never even imagine. As he scanned the crown, however, he did not see Sakura. He hadn't seen her since he arrived. It had been a matter of importance the night before to ensure her participation in the exams, it was a choice after all. Not much had been said in way of what he wanted with her. But he could feel himself become addicted to the way she tested his temper and flared the spark of annoyance at his comings and goings. She said that he could count on seeing her there and that it would be perfectly fine if he left for the night. He scoffed at this thought.

'Fine for her maybe…' Gaara fummed to himself.

'You know,' the demon spoke quietly. 'We should go look for her.'

'No,' he replied after a moment's thought on the idea. 'She said she would be here, she still has time.'

There was a quiet growl of frustration but all persistence on the topic was gone.

But now Gaara was itching to find her. He looked toward the door upon hearing it open yet again. A group of Sound Ninja walked into the room and found themselves a spot against a far wall. He snorted and went back to watching the door.

"Waiting for someone Gaara?" Kankuro joked from beside him.

Gaara did not turn to face his, well…"_brother"_ and kept his gaze on the door. "Yes," he replied simply, his voice flat and dull with boredom.

Temari and Kankuro shared a look of surprise between them before their gaze turned back to their little brother.

"And who might that be?" Temari spoke in her smooth voice, a hint of amusement evident in her tone.

Gaara glanced over at her, not bothering to even move his head in her direction and shrugged. "I want to fight the Uchiha. Just making sure he shows up today." He lied, and by the looks of it they bought it.

It was then that Gaara sent out his sand, a tiny ribbon swirling undetected around the feet of those in the room. Slipping out the door it moved down the hallway toward the way Gaara remembered was the entrance. He couldn't wait for her to show up, he would just have to make sure she was here. So - yet again - he searched for her.

Sakura was excited for the exams but at the same time could deal without all the people. Some punks from rival villages had already tried to sabotage them and make them miss their tests by redirecting them the wrong way. She smirked to herself, too bad she could sense an illusion a mile away. She shook her head, a little proud of herself for telling them off, and thought of how inexperienced they were at covering their chakra signatures. There was one signature, however, that seemed impossible to cover up. He was here, she could feel his presence. It was like a magnet, pulling her to its epicenter, to its source. Gaara. No one else seemed to notice the river of energy that poured through the hallways. She looked up at the clock, she had 20 minutes until they were supposed to gather in the test room for instructions.

"Hey Naruto?" she spoke to the blonde strutting down the hall in front of her.

He turned to look at her. "Yeah Sakura?"

"I'm going to run to the bathroom and have a look around. I'll meet you guys in there. Okay?"

Naruto nodded and smiled at her, Sasuke just looked at her for a moment before turning and continuing down the hallway. She waited for the hurt to come, the pain of being ignored and feeling unimportant. But it never came. She just watched him walk down the hallway with Naruto and found, with much surprise, that she didn't give a damn whether or not he cared where she was, it didn't matter anymore. Instead she wanted to find Gaara, that part of her mind that wanted to take away such a sad look of loneliness from his eyes wanted to wish him luck and tell him to be careful.

She felt something brush against her ankle. Looking down she saw a small pool of sand around her feet. She looked back down the hallway, Gaara wasn't anywhere to be seen and his aura still felt a ways away. The sand shifted then and floated up to bump against her back. She swirled around to inspect and it darted back to her feet, brushing past her and tugging on her sandals before slithering along the ground down the hall. She looked around at the faces in the hallway, no one had seemed to pay her much mind and she quickly paced after the trail of sand. It darted around a corner and she chased after it just quick enough to see it disappear under a door down the hallway. She couldn't help but smirk at his little antics, apparently he was finally getting sick of chasing her all over the place and thought it was time for some pay back. She looked around to see if anyone was watching and slipped into the deserted hallway unseen. Turning the handle of the door slowly to try and not make too much noise she pushed it open and snuck her way inside before quietly shutting it behind her. After she heard the latch click into place she turned around. Gaara stood closely behind her, closer than she had anticipated. She jumped at his proximity and sent him an exhausted glare.

"You're late," he stated coldly.

She sighed. "If I'm correct, I still have 15 minutes until the exam starts." She placed her hands on her hips and smiled proudly. "So actually, I'm early."

"That's not the point," he said a hint of exhaustion. "I needed to talk with you, and now there's not a lot of time to do that."

She was slightly taken aback by this and became curious. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Sakura these exams can get dangerous," he said surly. "And I'm going to be in this thing until the end."

"Yeah?" she said skeptically, urging him to continue.

He paused for a second, unsure of exactly how to word what he wanted to say. "Well, I just need you to be careful so I don't have to keep an eye on you the whole time, okay?"

Sakura couldn't help but let out a scoff at his words. "Like that's going to stop you."

He made the choice not to reply to her remark, it was true, and he was still going to keep an eye on her.

"Regardless," he said with a bite in his voice. "I feel it would be easier for the both of us if you stayed out of trouble as much as possible."

She rolled her eyes. "Alright Gaara, I'll be sure to be a good girl."

"Good," he said shortly.

Sakura paused for a moment and seemed to become fidgety and nervous. "Hey Gaara?" she began before looking to the ground for a brief moment.

"What?"

"The same goes for you too you know." He seemed puzzled at her remark so she tried it again. "I mean like you have to keep yourself safe too."

Gaara was shocked – on the inside at least – and couldn't really sort through the words she had said. Did she want him to be careful? Why would she want him to be careful? His thoughts sort of just spilt together into a one word question and then tumbled out of his lips. "Why?"

"Because," she said with a shrug. "I don't want anything to happen to you." She looked around and wondered how long they had been in the room talking.

She turned to leave, expecting the exams to be starting soon. Gaara reached out before she could grab the door and snagged her wrist. She looked back just in time to see him raise her hand up to his face. He turned it over so her palm was facing him and pressed his nose gently to her wrist, taking a slow breath and inhaling her scent. His eyes had slid closed and his chest heaved as he breathed deeply. She tried to fight back a blush at his spontaneous action.

Gaara held her wrist in his hand and for the first time realized how frail it seemed. Even as he placed it to his nose he could feel it stiffen with a tentative caution. As he breathed her in, however, he felt himself relax. The demon purred in his head and cooed at the fresh sweetness that pulsed from her veins. He locked the scent away in his memory, along with the way her skin felt – much softer than he would have imagined, and let her fingers slip past the grip of his hand.

He saw the confusion in her eyes, along with the flush of color in her cheeks he had remembered from the first night he visited her, and shrugged casually. "Just in case I need to find you."

"Right," she said slowly as she nodded her head, she wasn't really buying it. "That totally makes sense."

"Good luck, you might need it."

She laughed. "I heard the first round is a written test, if anyone here needs luck, it's you."

Sakura turned and disappeared out of the room. Gaara stood alone, a smirk on his face as well a devious grin from his demon. He had seen her chase after his trail of sand down the hallway, his sand was just another way for him to see, and what he saw surprised him. All it took was a little nudge and a tug at her feet and she was on her way to find him. She seemed to find fun in her game of chase, a smile graced her lips as she saw it slither around the corner away from the crowd.

'She came to you,' whispered the demon. 'Of her own free will.' He could feel it slide to the bars of its cage and look towards the door. 'She will do it again.'

Gaara then adopted the devious grin of his demon and a low, villainous sounding chuckle echoed from his chest. 'Yes,' he agreed surly, knowing full well the beast was correct. 'She will…'

Gaara looked down at the question laid out on his test. The first one didn't seem to work in his head so he tried the second, no luck. Then the third – still nothing. He had no idea, absolutely no clue how to answer the problems. He had given up trying to answer the questions and instead thought of why they would give such impossible material to students of their rank. It was then that he knew; they were supposed to cheat. Somewhere, someone in this room knew the answers, it was just a matter on if you could find them. Gaara chuckled to himself, this was going to be easy.

His sand eye had been successfully created without so much as a glance his way, however, attempting to find the person that knew the answers was proving quite difficult. No one seemed to have the answers around him. He would give them a few minutes… He decided to travel a few rows down to where Sakura was seated. The third eye floated silently next to her, peeking through her paper from under her arm. She seemed not to notice and continued to scribble at her paper. She was already at question five, half done, and all of her writing seemed neat and easy, most everyone else had scribbles and smeared eraser marks cluttering up the page. A quick glance at her face showed that she wasn't even breaking a sweat, in fact, there even looked to be a faint smirk on her lips…like it was easy…

To say the least he was very surprised that she had caught on that quickly, she expected her to take a little while longer at least. But a longer look at her face, at her eyes, showed him that she was thinking. She analyzed the question silently repeated it to herself, and wrote down a confident and sure response. She was really making it look like she was answering them herself. Whatever technique she was using it was very effective.

'What if she's not using one…' the Shukaku questioned quietly. 'What if she knows them?'

It didn't take long for Gaara to take the initiative and start writing down her answers, only a few others in the room and begun writing as well.

Before he knew it, he was done. Every answer had was worked out and solved. Could she really be that smart? He had picked up that she liked to read but he never thought she would be this good. He had no idea where to begin with the problems on the page, and if he did, he didn't know how to continue on. But she seemed to glide through it. After he had finished writing down her answers he leaned back in his seat and watched her as they waited for the time to be finished. She was becoming more and more interesting as the days went on. Even her scent, it reminded him of her life in the forest. The scent of trees thick in the air and the constant bloom of wildflowers. Not like his. His was rough, it was dry like the desert he lived in. She seemed to smell softly of what he would imagine a spring in the forest would smell like; fresh, gentle, and full of life.

The demon in his head remembered wafting the fresh scent of her through his nostrils and once again sucked in a breath through his nose. 'I want it,' he spoke, sighing in frustration. 'It smell so good…'

Gaara listened the demons whines of and groans of desperation. He wanted this girl in ways that he had never wanted a stranger before; Alive. He thought for a moment, the idea wasn't all that disagreeable.

'Patience.'

He felt the beast nod and sink back into itself, all the while watching Sakura through his eyes. The last echo of his voice, a whisper that he could feel resonate from the deep corners of him mind, played through his ears. 'Patience wears thin.'

He made a point to remember that.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter End**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×


	7. Temptation

_**Temptation **_

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter Start**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Gaara had been so close to leaving, so damn close. Right when his fingertips touched the handle of the door he heard the smooth and motherly voice of his sister from behind him asking where he was going. He cursed himself for walking out the front and not just disappearing from his own room unseen. The thought of going back to her house again, smelling her scent and feeling the soft touch of her skin had distracted him and caused him to think less clearly. Damn her.

Now he was sitting on the floor with Temari in front of him, her arms folded over her chest and her deep blue eyes scanning his features. "So what's been up with you?"

"What do you mean?" he asked dryly, trying to sound bored and uninterested.

"Well for one," she began slowly, not entirely buying into his façade. "You haven't been home hardly at all at night since we got here. And here you are trying to leave again. What could be so interesting in this village that it actually holds your attention?"

He couldn't blame her really, she was right. He had been gone a lot and technically there would be nothing that could interest him so much for so many days. It was out of the ordinary for him.

"Gaara," she said quietly, her voice holding that sisterly concern that seemed to tug on the child in, the one that still wanted to be loved, the one he had tried to kill a long time ago and still couldn't seem to shake to this day. "You can tell me anything, you know that right?"  
'Don't tell her,' the demon spoke from his mind. He wanted to keep Sakura his secret, he wanted to keep their visits hidden from his family.

Temari noticed the distant look in her little brothers' eyes, it looked like he faded from the world when his demon spoke to him, like he was sucked back into himself to listen to the voice in his head. She had seen him like this too many times to ever mistake that clouded over look in his eyes. She didn't want to push him in fear that he would decide on not telling her, so she waited patiently with the look of concern evident on her face.

"Temari?" Gaara spoke after a moment. Her eyes lit up.

"Yes?" she answered, anxious for him to finally find confidence in her and actually talk to her about something. Her brother may be a host, and he may have the temper of his demon, but it wasn't who _he _was. She and Kankuro hardly ever spoke about it, but it was a knowledge they shared that they both missed their little brother and wanted to be close with him, they thought that maybe in some way it would help him.

"Can I ask you a question?"

She nodded.

"Okay, but you can't tell anyone." His eyes locked with hers and the threat that flowed from them needed no words to be understood, she nodded and promised that she wouldn't tell a soul. "Do you really want to do this?"

She thought for a second before responding. "Do what? Talk to you? Of course."

"No, I mean the mission."

"Oh," she replied as her voice became quiet. She thought over their mission and a small pang of guilt formed in the pit of her stomach. "Of course," she said slowly, as if unsure of her answer. "I have to."

"No," Gaara said as his eyes locked with hers. "I mean if you had a choice, if it was a matter of choice would you still do it?"

"No." Her answer was given quickly and surly, not a doubt in her mind. "Gaara," she began with a small sigh. "We could benefit so much more from an alliance with the Leaf Village than going to war with them." He seemed to be confused at her statement so she reworded it. "It's always better to have friends over enemies."

Once again Gaara started to think, it was controversial to everything he had learned on his own. Everything lately seemed to be. He couldn't help but wonder what he would do if he had a choice. In that one moment of do or do not would he actually do it if he wasn't forced? He felt the demon grin and laugh at him. Of course it would want him to do it. It always wanted him to do it, and in truth he wanted to do it as well. But that was different than the option of free will.

"I had a vision Temari." The words seemed to just spill from his mouth and he winced at the pain of the demon roaring it's disapproval in his head. Temari noticed this and quickly went to sit beside her brother, her heart went out to him. She had seen him in pain because of the beast inside him more than she cared to remember. She was hesitant, but she slowly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What was it Gaara?"

"A warning." He brought a hand up to rub his temples to try to dull the throbbing pain inside his head. "There is something else here. Something bigger than what we have planned."

Temari was shocked, she felt her stomach drop and a cold feeling snake its way up her spine. Her voice fell to a hushed whisper. "What did you see?"

"Death," he spoke with his voice was low. "And it wasn't me who did it either."

She looked around, listening to the sounds of the apartment, making sure no one could hear them. "Have you told anyone about this yet?"

He thought about telling her about Sakura, letting her in on what his vision had been and what the messenger told him. He decided that could wait for another time. Shaking his head he noticed her let out a quiet sigh a relief.

"Good. Sometimes the men in charge don't take too kindly to things they don't understand."

He knew exactly what she was talking about. The leaders of their village, everything that Gaara did seemed to trickle back to their ears, and they had a problem with authority. When they created Gaara, or turned him into what he was, they didn't understand what they were doing. Sealing such a powerful beast into an infant and then expecting to be able to control such a thing was preposterous. When they found this out for themselves, only too late, they tried to right their wrong by killing him. When that proved impossible they shunned him, hated him, and gave him the most dangerous mission they could, hoping some rouge ninja would be good enough to finish the job. Needless to say, no one ever was.

"No one else knows about this Temari," he said quietly. "You can't tell anyone."

She gave him a small smile and nodded. "Not a soul," she agreed. He got up and started walking over to the door. She called after him. "Where are you going?"

"To try and figure all this shit out."

She spoke out his name in a hurry and when he looked back over his shoulder she hesitated in her words and her eyes became soft. "Take care of yourself. If-," she began, thinking over her words, trying to gage how Gaara would react to them. "If you ever need anything all you have to do is ask."

He nodded and disappeared out the door. Temari quickly got up and ran into the other room, Kankuro's room, and shook him away from his nap. He awoke to her panicked and also very excited and energetic.

"Jeezes," he groaned. "What's wrong with you?"

"I talked to him," she breathed, her eyes vibrant.

"Talked to who?" he questioned as he ribbed his eyes.

"Gaara."

Kankuro sat up in bed and she kneeled next to him. "You actually talked to him?" he questioned, disbelief clear in his tone.

She nodded and smiled wide. "He told me something Kankuro," she spoke in a whisper, yet again making sure that no one could hear her words. "He had a vision. Something really bad is coming here, and it's not us." She watched as his eyes grew wide and he too spoke in a very hushed voice.

"A vision? Of what?" he urged her.

She shook her head. "He didn't say, only that I couldn't tell anyone. He left just a minute ago."

"Again?" Kankuro stood up and pulled on a loose shirt.

"He didn't say where he was going, but he did say he was going to try to figure this all out."

"Can he be trusted?"

Temari shrugged and looked out the window, wondering where exactly he had gone, and where he had been going. "We'll find out."

Gaara stood outside Sakura's front door. He was going to knock when he heard a male voice from inside the house, it was followed by laughter from an older sounding woman. He hesitated and looked up toward Sakura's bedroom window, he could feel she was in there, he could even smell it. Sand swirled around his feet and he floated up to the window. He tapped on the glass twice and soon enough Sakura peeked her head out from behind the blinds. She looked shocked to see him hovering in the air and held up a finger telling him to wait. She emerged again a few moments later with her hair tossed into a messy bun and a black tank top with lose short shorts. It wasn't her usual attire so he figured she was planning on staying in tonight. The window slid open and she look back at the door once more before turning to inspect Gaara's floatation device.

"Do you use sand for everything?" she questioned as she perched herself on the windowsill.

"Yes," he replied simply. "With it, I can do anything."

"Well yes," she said in a low voice rolling her eyes. "But apparently you can't knock on a door."

"I heard voices."

She couldn't help but giggle at him. "Well yeah, I live with my parents after all."

"They weren't here before." His voice got quiet and he lowered his eyes to the front door.

"They were on a mission. They just got back today." She stepped away from the window back into her room. "Wanna come in or something? Or do you just want to sit there for the rest of the night?"

Gaara looked at Sakura, then back at the door. When his eyes met hers again he quickly shook his head. Something about being here when her parents were around didn't sit well with him, it made his stomach feel funny, his senses heighten as if he were going into battle, and he didn't like it.

Sakura saw the shift in him and looked at him quizzically. "Well then what do you want to do?"

"I want you to come with me." The beast in his head purred at his suggestion, trying to convince her to accept the offer even though she couldn't hear him.

'Take her out of town,' it whispered. 'Take her where no one else will go.'

She thought for a moment and turned to her door. "One second, I'll be right back." She left the room.

Gaara slouched down and sat on his sand and watched her door, slightly ajar and letting in the soft light of the hallway, awaiting her return. He tried to keep his outside appearance cool and put together, but the demon was causing a commotion inside his mind. His hands dug into the sand around him, clutching it to keep him in place like he had with her carpet that first night when she took a shower. The demon flashed images of her hair tucked up into her bun, small strands and tendrils messily hanging over her neck and face, exposing her neck and shoulders, the scoop of her shirt showing the top of her back and collar bones. He whispered how he wanted to touch it, to feel the soft skin that covered her neck, to pull her in close and breathe in her fresh scent as much as his heart desired, to taste it.

'Stop,' Gaara demanded, even the voice in his head seemed to waver.

The demon chuckled. 'You can't keep me from her forever, sooner or later you're going to give in.'

'What exactly do you want from her?' he demanded, his head filled with images of her throat pressed roughly against his nose, heaving in her scent, his mouth watering at the desire to taste her. There were several containing the image of her that first night; hair tostled and messy, shirt hanging limply off of her shoulders… and carelessly without pants as well.

The beast almost laughed. 'As if you have to ask.'

Gaara snarled at his stupid game. He was getting sick of being taunted with things he couldn't have, not now, not yet. 'I want you to say it.'

'I want you to make her mine. I want her.'

Gaara felt his temper flare at his demon, he felt that the demons words were a challenge to him. Gaara, being who he was, would never back down from a challenge of his power. 'You will never have her,' he thought is a deadly voice, dripping with danger and warning. "She will be mine," his voice left his lips this time and was quickly lost to the night air.

The beast chuckled. 'That's close enough.'

Sakura appeared in the doorway yet again and shut the door behind her. She quickly made her way to the window and spoke in a whisper. "Okay, my parents think I'm going to bed so they won't bother me until morning." She looked to the ground and frowned. The only place she could land if she jumped would be right in front of her living room window and her parents were currently curled up on the couch together watching T.V.

She glanced at Gaara sitting on his sand. "Do you think, maybe," she stammered as she gestured towards the sand. "Could I hitch a ride?"

Gaara stared at her for a moment, surprised that she wanted to be placed on his sand. No one ever wanted to touch it. No one ever wanted to even be around it. He nodded and watched as she snuck out her window and stood on the ledge of her roof to silently slide it closed. She turned to Gaara and now that she was outside he could see the indecision in her eyes as they eyed his sand.

"It's going to hold right?" she asked skeptically. "I'm not just going to fall through it or anything?"

Gaara chuckled at this and reached out to grab her wrist. He gave her a gentle tug and she followed his lead to step carefully onto the sand. Once placed he had intended on only sitting her down next to him, but the strangest thing happened. As the sand shifted and moved under her she became uneasy, she leaned over to him and clutched his sleeve in her hand, holding onto him as they moved silently to the cover of the trees. He pried her hand from his sleeve and helped her step off of the shifting sand onto the stable branch of a nearby tree. The platform disappeared and consumed him, Sakura watched in awe as it spiraled down to the alleyway below and dispersed to reveal Gaara, looking up into the trees, and waiting her to come down. She jumped down from the branch and landing with a soft thud on the ground.

"Where did you want to go?" she asked, her eyes bright with anticipation.

'Far away,' the demon responded with an evil smirk. The innocence, and also the ignorance, she carried about her only made the demon want her more. It wanted to break her, to taint her. For once, Gaara didn't agree with it.

"I was hoping you knew somewhere."

Sakura thought for a moment. "Well, there's this little pond, it's just outside the city but still in the wall. I always liked going there at night when I was home by myself."

"Lead the way."

She smiled at him, really, genuinely smiled at him. He was mesmerized. "Okay, it's not too far." He followed her down the alleyway and watched her as she moved. She was so graceful in how she walked, when she wasn't afraid she seemed to just glide through life. He had to pause for a moment. She wasn't afraid. Normally such a thought would infuriate him, everyone should be afraid of him, it was good for them to fear, it kept them safe. But this one didn't seem to fear him like all the rest.

He shook the thought from his head and made the excuse that she didn't know who, or what, he really was.

The pond Sakura had spoken of was nothing like Gaara had imagined…or had ever seen. It was shallow and full of tiny creatures and sounds with tall grasses and wildflowers. The banks sloped much like the rise and fall of the desert, and held a very peculiar type of tree. He had never seen anything like them in his desert home and he hardly ever paid attention to things like that on missions. They had thick, twisting trunks and the branches were gnarled. Everything seemed to reach up and then droop down, almost back to the ground along the bottom of the tree. But the crippled tree was covered in a veil of feathery leaves, a vibrant green that blew like a ghost in the wind. And they were everywhere.

"Willow trees are my favorite trees," Sakura said with a pleased sigh. "Next to the cherry tree of course."

She took a seat on the mossy ground and hugged her knees to her chest. Gaara sat beside her and crossed his legs. He leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees in a lazy slouch, staring distantly off at the water. She scoot back slightly so she could lean back against the trunk of a large willow. Its' leaves hung limply from the branches stretched out above them.

"Did you tell them about me?" he questioned.

Sakura shook her head, knowing from the way he had first reacted he was thinking of her parents. "No, like I said they think I'm in bed."

"Even earlier?" he asked, glancing over to her. "Before I was there?"

"Not at all. I promise."

The demon smirked. 'Good girl…'

"You never even want to be around anyone, it's always just us. I can take a hint Gaara." She spoke this with confidence, as if she were completely sure with the fact.

Gaara rolled his eyes. 'Oh sure,' he thought dryly. "Why did you have to talk to them than?"

"Well you know," she said as she stretched her arms over her head, the front of her shirt pilling out as she leaned forward. Gaara could feel the demon pull at his cage, trying to pry his head to look. "They're my parents, they want to know what I'm up to and what I did today. I just went to say goodnight."

"Oh."

"Yeah, you know how parents are."

Gaara thought on this for a moment, unsure of how to respond to her choice of words. He really didn't know how parents were. "Actually no."

Sakura looked over at him and scanned his face. Nothing. Emotionless. She was kind of getting sick of it really, he could at least look like he liked being around her if he was going to force it to happen anyways. She felt sorry for him though, he said he was shunned, hated in his home, and considered a mistake. He had said that he didn't have anyone he wanted to be around, he was alone. And now this? To say he didn't know what parents were like reminded her of Naruto yet again.

"Why's that?" she asked, her voice gentle.

"Well, my father is always off at work since he never wants to be around so I hardly see him." Gaara scowled on the inside. 'Good,' he thought bitterly, a small temper burning in his mind. 'He's a waste of a man."

"What does your father do?" she asked from beside him.

"He's the Kazekage."

Sakura went wide eyed. "_You're _the Kazekage's son?" Gaara nodded. "Oh my god I had no idea," she said breathlessly as she thought over all things she had said and done to him. She had been so rude, even though he deserved it, but her head swam with the knowledge that she had been with such a high ranking family member. She probably would have chosen her words differently if she had only known.

"Yeah, well, I wish I wasn't. I hate that man." This time Gaara's scowl showed on his face and his voice perfectly described how he felt. The quiet chuckle of the beast echoed in his head.

Sakura shifted her feet on the ground, unsure of what to say. "Well," she began quietly. Gaara turned his head slightly to better hear her and saw the questioning look on her face.

The demon sighed in delight at the way her brow furrowed as she thought, her eyes looked shy and sweet, her lips slightly parted in mid thought…

"What about your mom?"

Gaara froze. He hadn't been confronted about his mother in years, no one dared bring her up to him, or ever for that matter. It was one of the most buried secrets in his family. Everyone knew but no one ever spoke about it. He took a breath to wash the thoughts from his mind and tried to speak evenly.

"She's gone."

Sakura knew he was trying to hide it, but there was pain in his voice. Her heart went out to him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he said quickly. "It happened a long time ago. I don't even remember."

'I do,' taunted the demon in a satisfied voice. 'I remember _everything_.'

'Bite your tongue,' Gaara warned, snapping at the demon. It only laughed at him.

Sakura tucked some stray hair behind her ear and looked over at him, for the first time he noticed her eyelashes, they were black, unlike the vibrant and strange color of her hair. Her eyes, that lively forest green, looked so deep behind the ring of black.

"Hey Gaara?" she spoke while fidgeting with her fingers.

"Yeah?"

She didn't know what to say after that, truth be told. She wanted to make him feel better, to cure the ache of loneliness if only for a while.

'Well,' the little voice in her head spoke with a playful sigh. 'He _is_ cute, and belonging to a very powerful family apparently.'

'What's your point?' she questioned fearing what her answer would be.

'He's _lonely_,' she encouraged with a suggestive tone.

Sakura blushed and snapped at herself to shut her trap. Gaara saw the change of color on her face and had to look away. He couldn't see it without having the thing is head use the image against him.

"Um, I lied to you the other day." Her voice was shameful though she wasn't entirely sure why.

"How so?"

"When you snuck up on me in the library and asked me about what I was reading," she admitted. "I do know someone who is a host."

Gaara felt a lump catch in his throat. 'What!?' he thought in disbelief.

'I knew it,' thought Shukaku, it seemed uneasy now that its hunch about there being another had been confirmed. Gaara felt himself panic, he was right, he was going to have to compete with another host for her attention. The thought of another person being able to tow her around like he did sickened him and made him seethe with jealousy. The demon, however, was overcome with possessiveness. It thought with bitterness of another host, another demon, getting the same things from this girl that he did…and that he would soon have.

'Find out who it is, do it now.' The beast seemed panicked and Gaara was catching the back lash of its energy, throwing him off.

"Oh really?" he said, his voice was covered with a lazy curiosity that did a good job at covering up how he felt underneath. "And who might that be?"

"If I tell you no one can know that I gave you this information okay?" She made her voice stern and she turned to look him in the eyes when she spoke. He nodded and urged to her to continue. "It's Naruto, my teammate."

This dumbfounded him. The loud mouth? The one who challenged him his first day in the city? It seemed impossible. He was so…idiotic. Even the demon was thrown for a loop.

"I know he doesn't seem like it, but he was really lonely as a kid. Nobody really liked him and he was picked on a lot. He was really rebellious because of it and got in trouble a lot. His mom died a long time ago too. I've never asked, I don't want to pry too much, but I'm pretty sure he's never met his dad."

"How did it happen?"

"I've only really heard stories, but years ago a demon attacked our village." Gaara remembered stories of the nine tailed fox attacking Konoha. The creature was said to be massive, teeth larger than a grown man, eyes like wild fire and fur the color of burnt red. "Naruto was just about to be born when the Hokage was fighting the fox. In a last ditch effort to save the village from the demons attack they sealed it inside him as he was born. His mother didn't live through it and I can't remember what happened to his father after that. Ever since then the people of this village have always acted like they were better than him. I know he can be a pain and gets annoying really easily, but I think people have forgotten that they owe him their lives. If the demon had not been sealed inside him the entire city would have been destroyed."

"How do you feel about him?" He couldn't look at her. Silently awaiting her answer he tried to steady his heart. Maybe, just maybe, if she could accept her teammate than maybe she could accept him, even knowing what he was.

"Well he really didn't have any friends until he got a team with me and Sasuke. Our Sensei sort of became his parental figure and we all tried to do something to take care of him. He had been on his own for a while and everybody like that deserves a break at some point." She frowned and Gaara noticed a hint of disappointment in her voice. "I wish Sasuke would be nicer, they always seem to fight even though Naruto cares about him. I know I can say mean things to him but I care about him too, a lot."

"Why don't you fear him? He's a monster." He tested the word with, it was his title after all, and he wanted to gage how she would react.

Sakura snapped her head in his direction, her eyes were sharp with her rise in temper. "He's _not_ a monster." Her voice was stern and sure. "He didn't have a choice in what he became, it's not his fault so he's not to blame."

"You don't think hosts are monster than?" he questioned.

"Of course not! And to be honest if you do than I think you need to rethink yourself. Their just different, and different doesn't always mean monstrous."

"Hm," he breathed. His mind flooding with her words. She wouldn't hate him, she thought it was wrong to…he was stunned. The demon grinned in his mind. "I'm glad you think that way."

He had walked her home when she started to grow tired even though she insisted she could go by herself. He ignored her protest and accompanied her anyways. He helped her up to her bedroom window, his sand sliding it open for her to crawl through. Her lean form slid inside the house without a sound and Gaara watched as she peeked out the door, checking to make sure her parents were asleep.

She returned to the window where she had left him waiting. "Thanks for the lift," she whispered, a tired smile gracing her lips.

"Anytime."

"I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked, her voice seemed a tad bit hopeful.

He nodded and she slid her window closed. Gaara didn't feel like going home, not yet. He settled for sitting on her roof. He meditated as he sat there, building his energy for the next day's tests. As she slept in the room below where he sat he went deep within his mind and felt his body relax, almost to the point of shutting down. It was then that the demon whispered to him about the girl in the room below. It always harassed him when he was like this, his mind was vulnerable to the demons voice and thoughts more than normal and the beast used this to his advantage. It was a constant barrage on his senses, the way she smelled and felt, the way her voice sounded when she spoke to him…it drove him crazy.

Well, technically it was the demon driving him mad, but it was her fault. He seemed to feel it in his deep meditation, the visions flashed before his eyes became so life like and real to him. For once he let his guard down and allowed the beast to show him the things he had been trying to ignore. He couldn't lie to the demon when it knew his thoughts. He wanted it all the same, the only difference between the two of them was he had self-control and patience when the Shukaku only thought about what it wanted in the moment. He remembered the vision of her pressed limply against him, her hands tugging at the fabric of his shirt, her brow knitted together and lips parted in shallow breaths as he coveted her to himself, drinking in her scent. He imagined the way her smaller body would feel when pressed so roughly against his own. He was larger, more powerful, and more dominating than her. If she was anything like the way the demon hoped she was than she would bend to his will with the slightest of persuasion. He imagined fisting his hands in her cherry locks, his lips trailing along her neck, attempting to stain them with the way she tasted. He thought she would taste wonderful, just like the way she smelled.

The demon stepped in and changed the image in his mind. She was trapped and like a game of cat and mouse he toyed with her. Her gentle hands were soft against his neck and he buried his face in the juncture of her throat, relishing in the way it flooded his senses. He wanted more, her skin was so soft and she emitted a type of heat that he wanted to bask in. The demon chose to show him the image that he had locked away into his memory, never to forget; her striding past him after he first entered her room. He couldn't help it, it was too tempting. He had his hands on her legs, he didn't know how they got there but he had guided her legs to bend over his hips. In the vision before him she was submissive, letting him touch her and toy with her as he pleased.

Gaara saw the scene change as it shifted in angle. Suddenly he was above her, pinning her to the ground. Her head was tilted back as a result of his hand tugging on her hair. Her neck was exposed to him and he went in without hesitation. Nuzzling against her she sighed with delight and anticipation as his larger hands moved down her body and felt the curve of her waist and hips. He smoothed his hands over the soft curve of her rear and pressed her to him. She pulled her arms around him and tugged desperately on his shirt, desperate not to get him off, but to have more. He was losing his mind. Absolutely going mad over this person. His hands stroked her legs, her skin soft and warm unlike anything he had ever felt. She was breathless beneath him and Gaara drew his hands from her legs and leaned back just far enough to observe his work. Her eyes were half closed and cloudy while her lips puckered, and he couldn't ignore that her cheeks were stained with a soft hue of pink. She was beautiful.

He inwardly groaned at his loss of control. She was just too tempting, he couldn't resist – not that he wanted to – and within just a moment he was trying to gain as much contact with her as he could. He practically crushed her to him, held her possessively in his arms and pressed his lips to her neck. She rolled her head back and he trailed his lips up to her jaw, she quivered. He slid his fingers through her soft hair and turned her face to his. His lips touched hers tentatively, unsure of how she would respond. It didn't take long for him to convince her to move her lips with his. He felt like she was drug, clouding his mind and intoxicating his senses, and he was quickly becoming addicted to her. He kissed her hard, dominating her senses, willing her to be submissive and accept what he wanted. She obeyed him without a complaint and she pulled at the hem of his shirt, her fingertips lightly brushing over his skin, sending shivers down his body.

Gaara couldn't take any more of this. It was too much. He had indulged in his mind for too long and it was becoming a distraction from his rest. He tried to better his senses and pull them from the captivity of his thoughts. In his mind he pulled away from her and tried to disentangle her arms from around him. The demon, however, caused her to grab at his shirt and plead with her eyes for him to stay close, to touch her again, and to touch her more than he already had. It took all the will power he had to pull away from the look of confusion and abandonment in her eyes. Her voice whimpered in confusion and pulled him down to kiss her again, desperately trying to mold her lips with his. He groaned and couldn't stop himself from responding. He kissed her deeply and pinned her down, demonstrating his power over her. She only seemed to beg for more. But that was it, he had power over her and he would not bend to her will. She was the one who obeyed him. He parted his lips from hers and tried his best to ignore the small cry of disapproval she whimpered as he stood from her and forced himself out of his thoughts. She called to him, her voice was laced with a type of need that he felt all too well. It spoke out to him, beckoning him back to her, back to the warmth of her skin against his own.

Her gentle voice washed over his mind as she spoke his name, it made his blood boil in a way he was unfamiliar with. His body ached and burned and it killed him…and he couldn't get enough of it.

Gaara's eyes shot open he breathed the cool night air deep into his lungs, attempting to cool down his body. It was on fire. His heart beat heavily in his chest and his blood rushed through his limbs. He was energized to say the least. He looked around and heard the faint chuckle of the beast in his mind. He cursed himself for letting it get that far, he had blindly encouraged the demon and he had paid the price. With his senses on high alert and his adrenaline pumping through his veins he welcomed the exams. He needed to calm down, he needed to get a grip on himself…he needed to kill something.

'Yeah,' he thought with a weak breath. 'That should do it.'

The beast laughed at him. 'You might actually give in sooner than I thought.'

Gaara grimaced at the voice in his head. In his opinion, the morning could not come soon enough.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter End**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×


	8. The Voice of Angel

_**The Voice of Angels**_

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter Start**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Gaara was in the presence of his siblings. He knew Temari had told Kankuro about the vision, it was obvious really; they both shared the same questioning look when they glanced over to him. He found himself not caring. No one knew about Sakura, and that's all that mattered. If his sensei, his village councilmen, or even worse – his father, ever found out about it she could be in serious danger. It was selfish of him to keep her around knowing the risk he placed on her. She seemed all too ignorant of the potential wrath she would feel from the Wind nation if they knew about how she effected Gaara. But for some reason his sister and brother knowing didn't seem all that bad.

They had 30 minutes before the gates to second testing grounds would be open. The forest was dark beyond the fences, he heard noises of unknown animals and the promise of danger and seclusion. The beast inside him stirred, eager to taste blood once again after being distracted by Sakura for the past few days. Gaara was sitting under the shade of a tree towards the back of the field they were gathered in to escape the mid-morning sun. His gourd was propped up against the tree next to him and even his siblings noticed it teeter back and forth as the sand became restless inside. It wanted out, badly.

Gaara smirked as he scanned the crowd, picking out the ones he hoped to run into in the forest, the ones that looked like they could put up a fight. His siblings beside him looked out their peripherals and saw once again the look of blood lust in his eyes. It was like they got darker, his face turned from lazy and bored to merciless and savage, and that creepy smirk on his face never helped either. It was like for a while he and the Shukaku were on the same page about something; battle. His grin was demonic and it always proved to be intimidating to say the least. But as he looked over to the edge of the crowd his expression changed. There was such a sudden shift in his eyes they instantly scanned the crowd to figure out what had caught his attention. His gaze led them to the team they first met in the city.

Sand shifted over the ground and swirled around his feet. Temari saw this and for just a second couldn't help but be proud of her brother for being so adaptive. This was nothing like their home in the desert, there wasn't sand everywhere and he didn't have a seemingly unlimited source around him at his disposal. He had made it seem so thin, so light and dusty. He seemed to just vanish when normally it consumed him. He instead found a way to move in this dramatically different environment. He was truly a master at his element, it was a part of him, and he never exaggerated when he stated that he could do anything with the sand he possessed around him. She and Kankuro had witnessed their young brother completely change the landscape around the walls of their village, he sat on the highest point of the wall and made the sand dunes move like waves on an ocean, all the while sitting in a casual slouch against his gourd and looking like he wasn't even breaking a sweat. Because of the dramatic shift in the landscape 26 people were lost in the desert on their way to the city. They needed to deploy search parties and mapping crews to create a new general layout of the land. Gaara had found it amusing.

But at the moment her brother was vanishing before her eyes. She reached out a hand and caught his wrist. It was an impulse really, she was hoping that maybe he would talk to her again like he had last night. Gaara snapped his eyes back at Temari and she quickly removed her hold on him. He settled his sand and stood in front of her, crossing his arms and looking quite annoyed and tired with her.

"What is it now?" he asked, his voice perfectly mimicking his expression.

She steadied herself and was determined to get something out of him again. Kankuro stood behind her ready to defuse any sort of backlash from Gaara. She nodded her head in the direction of the team that had caught his attention. "Which one of them are you going to see?" she said in a stern voice. She knew not to demand things from him, so the tone was just to make sure he knew she would _appreciate_ an answer. She had done this enough for him to figure her out.

He looked back at the team as Sakura walked a ways behind them. She was looking skeptically and tentatively past the fences into the blackness of the trees.

'Don't tell them…'

Gaara ignored the voice of his demon and thought about what she represented. Gaara had told his sister that the night before he was leaving to figure some things out; he went to Sakura. She was the reason for his vision, the event – whatever the hell it was – would still happen if he knew of it or not, but he was instructed to find her. Since his vision revolved around her Temari would have to stand by her word to not say anything about Sakura either. If she did, it was simple; he would kill her.

"The girl."

Kankuro recoiled from behind Temari as she tried to hide the shock on her face, apparently she didn't do too well of a job. She cleared her throat and spoke in a – somewhat – even tone. "Gaara, why the girl?"

"I was told to find her."

"By who?"

"The messenger in my vision."

His siblings tried to come up with an answer for him, something to say back to the words they never expected him to say; he was going to see a girl.

"Temari?" Gaara asked after a moment. He wasn't looking at her, he was stills staring across the field to where Sakura was sitting with her team.

"Yeah?" she asked quickly, Kankuro leaned in to pay extra attention.

"You can't tell anyone about her." The demand in his voice was obvious, it always was, but he said it as if he wanted her to understand it as well, understand it like he did.

"Why's that?" she asked carefully.

Gaara paused for a moment before answering. "Nothing can happen to her, and I can't guarantee that our superiors will feel the same way."

Temari nodded her head and nudged Kankuro to do the same. "I understand."

Gaara gave her a stern glance before he once again attempted to vanish.

"Good."

….

Sakura was sitting with her team. She had seen Gaara when she walked in, he was with his team away from most other people, but didn't know how to talk with him in such as open space such as this. She couldn't help but laugh at herself. She was looking for a way to sneak away from her team to have secret meeting with a ninja from another village. What on earth was she doing?

She felt the familiar feeling of a dusty cloud of sand move past her legs and swirl along the ground away from the crowd. She got up and started to follow it. Naruto grabbed her wrist and yanked her back toward him and Sasuke.

"Sakura, where are you going?" he demanded.

She noticed the trail of sand recoil and shift around as she was dragged back to her team. It seemed to shiver, like it was a cat arching its back and puffing out its hair, she could have sworn that if it were only closer she would have been able to hear it hiss.

"I'm just going to the bathroom," she explained. "You don't know how long we're going to be in there and I'd much rather use a bathroom than have to squat behind a bush." She made herself seem annoyed so Naruto would release her hand. When he did she said she would only be gone a few minutes and started walking back towards the pile of slithering sand.

There was a soft gust of wind that swept across the field, it held a powerful energy to it and within just a moment Sakura felt like she was hit by a ton of bricks. Her body fell apart and she was engulfed by the very air itself. She panicked and tried to find herself again, trying to piece together the parts of her that had been lost to the wind. But within just a moment all the pieces she was looking for all came back and molded once again into herself, standing on shaken legs alone

She leaned over and supported herself on her knees. Breathing heavily she tried to calm down her stomach which was churning and winding into knots and traveling up her throat. As she attempted to fight back the urge to puke up her lunch she felt hands move through her hair and pull it back from behind her.

"It's better to just puke your first time and get it over with."

Gaara sounded bored and uninterested but in truth he kind of felt bad. He had only wanted to get her alone and he didn't really want to wait for her to follow his sand to him. He had executed his plan perfectly if he had to say so himself. He just needed her away from other people, wait until no one was watching, and within a second she would be gone and no one would know. But now here she was; bent over and clammy with a paleness to her skin that didn't fit her. He had used this technique with his siblings and sensie before, they had all puked their first time, unused to being dissolved and scattered across a given space. It seemed to get better after they let their body react the way it wanted to instead of fight it off.

She, however, seemed set on not throwing up in front of Gaara. He sighed in frustration with her and placed a hand on her back, taking care to keep all of her hair in his fist and out of her face. He trailed down the path of her spine and dug in the heel of his palm, shoving it back up her spine and stopping at the base of her neck. With the motion of his hand she could feel him emit chakra into her body and force the contents of her stomach up into her throat. She lurched forward and Gaara gave her the courtesy of looking away as she puked.

After spitting out the acidic taste in her mouth she wiped her lips and tried to breathe evenly. He noticed the color faintly return to her face but her knees still quaked and wobbled.

"Um," he mumbled as he looked down on her exhausted form. "Sorry about that."

"Wha-what was that?" she panted as she looked up at him.

He shrugged. "It's how I get around. Everyone else seems to have a bad reaction to it their first time."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You've done this to other people?"

"Well with my team, yes. Although they didn't like it too much either."

"Wow," she said with sarcasm evident in her tone. "I wonder why."

Gaara ignored it. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yeah," she replied in a shaky breath. "I just wanted to tell you that you don't need to constantly keep an eye on me okay?"

"Okay," he agreed as he nodded.

"Oh no you don't," she warned, not buying his comply at all. "I mean it Gaara. Once the exams are over you're not going to be around anymore and I can't get used to you watching out for me."

Gaara went quiet. It was the first time that either one of them had brought up the inevitability of him leaving her village – and her – behind. He couldn't stay here forever, he had a home in the desert. The village wasn't his home, but his element was. He could survive in the desert better than anyone. He could practically speak to the land and find water, food, and springs like little oasis's from miles away. It was where he belonged and he couldn't leave his desert behind. He didn't want to ask, for fear of what she might say, but he felt that she felt the same about the forest. She looked so at home among the green trees. He couldn't imagine asking her to come with him back to the desert and have her turn him down. He didn't know what he would do if she rejected him.

'Just don't ask,' the demon suggested. 'Just take her, she could learn to love the desert.'

Gaara mentally shook his head at his demon. It was that word that got him; _could._

"What if you need something?" he suggested trying to cover up the let down in his voice.

"I don't care," she replied simply. "Once you're gone I can't count on you anymore so I don't want to do it now." Her expression shifted then, changing from stern to something more upset. "I really don't think that I can make it all the way like you will." He couldn't help but smile inside. She knew he was going to make it to the end just like he did, it was nice to know she understood his amount of power without even knowing what it stemmed from. "So, for as far as I do get, I want to make sure that I did it on my own."

Gaara understood her perfectly. She didn't want help in proving what she could do. She wanted her efforts to be hers alone and he could respect that. It would be hard for him not to keep an eye on her, the demon in his head was already upset with her suggestion of leaving her alone in the forest. He was sure that the next time he saw Sakura after the gates opened she would be bruised and dirty. The beast would not be pleased with such a sight but he nodded and agreed to her conditions.

She gave him a smile. "Thanks. Take care of yourself Gaara, and good luck."

He smirked. "I don't need luck."

×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**In the Forest **_×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Sakura had managed to drag Naruto and Sasuke under the exposed roots of a large tree for some cover. She looked down at her team as they laid unconscious before her. The attack they had suffered in the beginning of the match was brutal. Naruto had taken some damage after dealing with such a powerful opponent and Sasuke was reacting to the bite in a way she had never seen or read about before. She cursed herself. If she had only been more diligent in her studies maybe she would have come across something like this.

She had dressed their wounds to the best of her ability with what they were able to carry with them but it would have been better for their situation if she had been able to pack more with her. With them unconscious – and Sakura having no idea when they would wake up – she was worried and afraid to be alone in this place after such a dramatic first encounter. She hadn't expected anything like it and was sure that she couldn't defend her team by just herself. She was starting to regret telling Gaara to leave her alone.

She wondered how he was doing, if he had encountered anyone yet, and even if he had finished. It had only been a few hours, there was no way he could be done already. The record time was nowhere near this early in the round. The thought made her heart sink a little. It was still early and they had a long way to go. She sighed and tried to concentrate on the mission at hand. Right now she couldn't think about getting a scroll and hauling ass to the safety of the tower, she had her team to think about. They were hurt and she needed to help them. She had done all she could but knew that they would need food and water when they woke up. Sakura calmed her breathing and focused her mind. She listened to the sounds of the forest. The echoes of animal calls and far off running water helped her tune her senses to the land. From what she had remember she tried to create a map of the land in her mind. Once she pinpointed the direction of the water and the general landscape of the region she would be able to find the direction of the current and follow it to a brook. Fresh spring water would be ideal and hopefully there would be some source of food near it.

Sakura emerged from the shadows of the thick roots and felt the air around her for the faint chakra signatures of nearby teams. There hadn't been anything in a while but it wouldn't hurt to check. The air was still and the birds chirping in the trees and small animals scurrying from branch to branch calmed her nerves. If they were relaxed than nothing was going to happen. The animals in the forest were always a good warning, either of an enemy or of approaching severe weather, they were sometimes a good first line of defense.

She climbed over roots in the maze of trees, following the sound of water to a small clearing in the forest. There was a shallow pool of water with grasses growing unkempt around its edge. She peered around the trees and found no one to be around. Stepping into the clearing she quickly got out her canteen and sunk in it the water. It was ice cold and perfectly clear.

She could hear the wind coming as it wound through the trees before she could feel it. It was a quiet whistle in the air and when the cool gust hit her it sent chills up her spine. The animals in the trees around her went quiet and the leaves seemed to shiver instead of flutter in the wind. She quickly put the lid on the canteen and stood to make her way back to her team. She turned back to the woods and her body froze in place. She tried to shift her feet but they seemed set in stone. Trying as desperately as she could to find the strength to move again her body quaked and shook and her heart raced at the possibility of being in another genjutsu like she had been through earlier. The trees waved in the wind, their thick trunks bending and swaying randomly and the leaves flaking out like small individual flames. Sakura's eyes were set on a dark patch in the trees ahead of her and no matter how much will she had she just couldn't look away. It grew brighter and brighter until there was a flash accompanied by a wave of pure energy. It filled her senses and jolted her nerves to life in a rush of an electric tingle from her toes to the tips of her fingers, every nerve filled with a feeling of rebirth. It was one of the most powerful and amazing feelings she had ever felt. It was…beautiful.

When her eyes focused once again there was a creature sitting proudly in front of her. It looked like a wolf; a long graceful snout topped off by noble deep blue eyes. It was massive and seemed to emit faint purple flames from its white coat. It was as pure as the color of clouds on a sunny day, as bright as the sun, but also soft looking, like cotton or freshly fallen snow. There was a grey brown color that faintly marked the side of its nose and circled around its eyes, the deep blue of the eyes clear and piercing in their gaze.

Sakura was torn between the urge to run from this creature and never look back at its other worldly presence and the urge to touch it and feel the flicker of the flames that waved from it like fur.

Her eyes were locked with the creature in front of her and she heard a gentle voice flow from the being into her ears. "I come to you with knowledge you must possess. You needn't fear me."

Sakura marveled at the voice the wolf had. It was pure and soft, like a melody to her ears and it seemed to numb her mind into a sense of calm and peace. It was like the voice of an angel.

"The boy that follows you, Gaara Sabaku, there is something you need to know about him. He was instructed by a messenger of the spirit world – like myself – to find you and he has done just that. He needs you Sakura. There is danger approaching."

'What on Earth can it be talking about?' she thought desperately. 'How does it know who I am?'

"You are very bright for your age and your skills in sensing the energy of others are years past your peers. With this you know that Gaara possesses a type of power that is very rare in this world of yours. He has sealed within him the spirit of the desert, a demon to this world and a native to the spirit world; Shukaku, the one tailed beast."

Sakuras heart sank. He was a host? Why had he never told her? Now that she knew it all made so much sense, the aura of power followed him like a shadow and she didn't even need to see him fight to know that he was not a force to be trifled with. But his presence felt so different from Naruto's. With Naruto you hardly noticed, there _was_ a source of power in him, like a fire burning deep inside that he had only managed to tap into on rare occasions. With Gaara it was like the fire just spilled out of him. It was like he had a hold on it like he owned it, it was his to control and not some power sealed deep within him. It was so…effortless.

"He is a carrier of one from our world and because of this he is shunned and misunderstood. You mustn't be like the others that have turned their back on him upon knowing what he is and the power he wields. He is the key to defeating a danger the likes of which he has never faced. He will be your redemption and your savior in your hour of need. But Sakura, you hold his life in the power of your hands, when the end comes he will need you. You cannot fail him, if you do your world may very well loose one of its most valued protectors. But be warned, the beast within him is a master at temptation and manipulation and he is tempting Gaara with things he does not understand due to a life of solitude. You can save him from this and show him the light to which he has turned a blind eye. He has lost his way and needs you to guide him back to the right path."

Sakura was speechless and stared at the creature as it stood and approached her. It touched its large head against hers, the fur brushed across her cheek like the feather light touch of silk. She felt her body pulse all the way down to her very bones and she was overcome with visions of Gaara as a child, lost and alone, becoming bitter and recoiling from the world, the beast filling his head with lies and corrupting his heart. She felt the hate he felt, the heart ache and confusion, all the broken attempts to connect with the world he was forced into without choice and without concern for his future. She felt tears leak down her face as her heart cried for him. It was so sad, he had been so young and so hated. In a flash she had seen his progression into isolation and seeking seclusion in his mind. He lost the childlike wonder in his eyes and adopted the feral glint of the demon inside him. She watched as his killings changed from accidental to purposeful and unnecessary. Then she was there, the spirit showed her how the demon thought of her, how it wanted Gaara to give in to its wishes. Sakura felt sick at the images she was shown, but was also shown how Gaara had been fighting the mental onslaught and denying the demon what it wanted. He was fighting against the demon for the first time in years just for her.

The spirit lifted its head from hers and she surged back into forest, still waving like an ocean just as before. "He is confused and trying to find understanding in this world. You can save him Sakura, before it is too late. You cannot fail in this."

With a flash of light the creature was gone and her world was solid once again. Sakura fell to her knees, her arms limp at her sides and tears silently streaming down her face. What she had seen was the most terrifying and beautiful thing she had ever seen. It left her breathless with wonder and frightened at the same time. She tried to stand but only wobbled and fell to the ground again. It was like the jolt to her nerves gave them a feeling of new life and they had to figure out how to work again. She sat and tried to steady the shaking of her hands to wipe the tears from her eyes. The creature had been the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, its voice was understand and affectionate yet stern like a mothers voice, it was pure and seemed to sing out to her heart and touch her soul.

She made another attempt to stand on shaky legs and stumbled to the trees. The birds started their songs again and the rustle of the animals returned. It was almost like it had never happened…almost. Sakura couldn't erase the images burned into her mind from the spirit. The visions of what the Shukaku had done to him, what his village had done to him, and how the beast they chained him to wanted her. She shivered at the thought of the demon wanting her in such ways. Gaara had a look to him, a stoic appearance that appealed to the instinctual woman in her, that she couldn't deny. The visions had tempted her as well, she tried to shake the feeling but seeing herself closed in his powerful embrace and showering her with attention wasn't something that was easily forgotten. She was going to lose herself in him, she was sure of it. But before than she couldn't let it get in the way of her warning, Gaara was going to need her and – after she collected her scrambled thoughts and steadied her nerves enough to be around him again – she was going to do her best not to let him down.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter End**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×


	9. Words of Warning

_**Words of Wisdom **_

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter Start**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Sakura stood at the back of her team, all remaining teams were around her standing in rows. She could almost breathe a sigh of relief that she had gotten done rather later in the round. This provided her with time to think about her visit in the forest. She glanced at Gaara, he was standing in the front of his team. He had seen the same thing as her, before he had even come to the village he was told by another worldly creature to seek her out. She had seen the type of destruction he could create, the mass panic that ensued at his flares of temper, but she had also been shown how he fought it off for her. He struggled against something inside him like never before just for her sake. She couldn't help but let it touch her heart…even if only just a little.

Gaara however, was not pleased with her untimely arrival. He had known that it was going to take her longer than it would take him but when she didn't show up after the first day his patience quickly wore thin. He had been able to let out some of his frustration in the forest. The stupid team that challenged them were mere child's play, he could have done it in his sleep. The demon snickered at the faces of the ninja he killed. They had given up their scroll and begged for their lives but Gaara knew not to listen to them anymore. The Shukaku hardly even had to remind its host to do its bidding, until the girl came into the picture at least.

But even so, it hadn't been enough. His body still twitched and ached for another battle. He needed a fight again, and a good one at that. His siblings had seen the change in him much like they were accustomed to and kept their distance from him. He preferred it this way. Seeing the way Sakura was when she walked in didn't help his temper either. He knew it would be this way, she would be gone too long and she would emerge from the forest dirty and battered with her team looking the same. He came out without as much as a scuff of dirt on his clothes. She could have been the same if she hadn't told him to leave her be.

He had glanced over in her direction when the official asked if anyone would forfeit before the third round. All he wanted was to see if she would raise her hand, which she did try. Gaara knew it wasn't for her sake though, something had happened to them in the forest, they looked like they had gone through something much different than a normal battle. She was concerned for her team mate, which didn't sit too well with him, and when she attempted to raise her hand he swatted it down and seemed to speak bitterly with her. It made his blood boil. If anything he wished to fight two people, that team mate of hers she was concerned for and whoever had done that to her in the forest. At the thought of the battles soon to come the sand in his gourd stirred and caused its container to quake on his back. Temari and Kankuro noticed this and saw the people standing next to them give them skeptical looks. Gaara had the crazy eyes again and his siblings pitied anyone who had to face him.

…._after Sakura's fight…._

Sakura looked at herself in the mirror, her hands stroking through her freshly shortened hair. It didn't look too bad, she had shorter hair when she was younger and it seemed to work then. She was going to have her mom touch it up when she finally got home, she was good with hair and a scissors would be better kuni for hair any day. She sighed, maybe it was time for a change. This were going to be changing after all. She had lost her fight and when Naruto and Sasuke became chunnine's and moved on she was going to start her medical training as soon as she could. She wouldn't be with a team anymore and the thought made her heart ache. She wasn't entirely sure if wanted all the change.

After Ino had talked with her in the bathroom she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to go back to the arena either. She wondered if anyone would notice, or care, that she just stayed in the bathroom until it was time to go home, but she couldn't do that, it would be too pitiful.

"New hair cut huh?"

Sakura looked up to find the woman from Gaara's team standing in the doorway. She must have been a few years older than him, she was taller, had more womanly features, and a smoother more mature voice. She gave Sakura a smirk and walked in the bathroom.

"Why's you get it cut?" she asked as she leaned against the counter next to her.

Sakura didn't really know what to say to this woman, especially after such a casual approach. "Well," she mumbled as she touched her short locks. "It just kind of happened. One of those spontaneous things, you know?"

"Oh yeah I know," she said with a smile, Sakura wasn't all too convinced it was real. "Your name is Sakura right?"

"Yeah," she said with a nod.

"I'm Temari." She held out a hand and Sakura shook it slight skepticism.

"I heard you were the first team finished with the last round," she said after a moment. "How did you guys manage to beat the record by so much?"

Temari laughed. It seemed more genuine than her smile at least. "Well passing stuff like that is a breeze with Gaara." She seemed almost proud when she spoke.

"Why's that?" Sakura asked, she had been curious after hearing that they had been the first ones to arrive at the tower and in such a record time as well.

Temari's expression shifted and she her voice became more serious. "That's what I came in here for. I need to talk to you about him."

Sakura felt her heart skip a beat. "Why would you have to do that?" she questioned, trying to keep an even tone.

Temari made it obvious that she wasn't buying. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Look, I know my little brother has been sneaking off to see you-"

"Little brother?" Sakura interrupted.

"Yeah, Gaara is my little brother. Kankuro is our brother too."

"Oh," she said as she thought back on all the times they had talked. She even brought up his family and he hadn't mentioned them "I guess he didn't say anything about siblings."

Temari gave a small laugh but there was an evident let down in her eyes. "Yeah, that doesn't surprise me. If he had it his way he wouldn't have any."

"So," Sakura began nervously. "What is it you needed to talk with me about?"

"I know that he thinks he needs to be around you for some purpose he hasn't quite figured out yet, which I never thought I would hear from him. I just thought I should check in with you."

"What do you want to know?"

She looked Sakura dead in the eyes and spoke in a low voice, it demanded a truthful answer. "Do you know what he is Sakura?"

She hesitated for a moment but nodded her head. "Yes, I do."

"Did he tell you?"

"No, I encountered something in the forest, it said it was spirit or something. I don't really know what I saw, but it told me what he was." Her voice became hushed as she recalled the creature and the feeling it emitted; like she was basking in its very soul.

Temari breathed a sigh. "Sakura," she said as she moved closer and quieted her voice. "Gaara is very unstable. These exams only make his demon worse. Do you know what he's capable of?"

"I was sort of told by the spirit. It showed me."

Temari chuckled and shook her head. "Oh hunny, just wait till you see it first-hand. That kid changes into someone else, almost into _something_ else. To be honest, I'm shocked he hasn't killed you yet."

Sakura took no offence to her blunt statement and just nodded in agreement. She couldn't help but agree after all. After seeing what he had done in the past she realized how close to death she had been the entire time without even knowing how easily he could have done it had how he wouldn't have cared at all.

"I'm serious Sakura," she said as her tone became more gentle, almost worried. "I wish he wasn't like this, Gaara shouldn't have had that happen to him and our village should have treated him better, they only helped mold him into the bitter person he is now. He's got a voice in his head that tells him to do things and he listens to it. He's crazy Sakura, I just wanted to make sure you were watching yourself."

"I'm sure he won't do anything with me Temari, but thank you for your concern."

"He says something is coming, has he spoken to you about it?"

She nodded. "Yeah, the first night he spoke to me."

"I've noticed some suspicious things around since we've gotten here. I can't say for sure but I plan on looking into them. I need something from you though."

"What is it?"

Temari took a breath before she spoke in a solemn tone. "Gaara has a nasty habit of doing a lot of impulsive things and it only digs him a deeper hole in the eyes of our leaders. For some reason, since we arrived here he hasn't done anything like that. I didn't see him get that look in his eye until we ran into a team in the forest. I don't know if it's because of you or what, but I need you to try and keep him away from things like that, kind of keep him out of trouble. I think it might be good for him."

Sakura thought about how Gaara had been hesitant to leave her alone in the forest and he seemed to not enjoy the idea of her being on her own. If she was a good enough distraction from his normal thoughts of carnage and bloodlust than maybe that was her purpose with him. While he was here at least…

"Okay."

Temari nodded and gave her a quick smile. "We never talked, got it?" she said in a stern voice. Sakura nodded. As she turned to leave she looked back over her shoulder. "By the way, he's been looking kind of rough since we got to the tower, I suggest watching him closely; it's good to have somewhat of an idea of what you're dealing with here."

With that she left and Sakura gave herself a minute to think through her encounter with his sister before moving back to the arena. She wondered who he would be up against, if it would be someone from her village or someone she had never seen before. Whoever it may be, she didn't envy them one bit.

….

After Sakura had seen Gaara fight she understood what Temari had been talking about and she believed the visions she was shown more than ever. He stayed true to Temari's word and looked like he had become someone else entirely. His eyes showed the turmoil that raged under his blank expression and casual stance. He was breaking with the need to fight when he entered the ring, and when Lee laid the first hit she saw him snap. His eyes became wild and demonic and his breathing was labored with shallow breaths. She had seen it in his eyes, he had intended on killing Lee, if his sensie hadn't stepped in than he would have been a dead man. The way he toyed with him and played with his raged body after Lee had exhausted almost all of his energy was pitiful and hard to watch.

She didn't know what to expect when the sand he used seem to take on a life of its own. It was like Gaara didn't even have to fight, the sand did everything for him. Sakura had no idea how in tune he was with his sand, it moved with him unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was beautiful and horrifying, a wonder to comprehend and something she dared not question. She thought back to when he told her he could do anything with his sand, at the time she had thought nothing of it but now, after seeing him use it battle she couldn't deny his statement. She envisioned him in the desert, surrounded by an endless expanse of sand to control. In the forest it was displayed on such a small scale, she thought with twisted fascination about what he could do if he was in his natural element; the possibilities were dizzying to try and think about. He was just one man yet he held the power of hundreds at his disposal.

Temari had warned her about the outcomes of the power she had seen commanded by such an unstable mind. Her warning was well placed and as Sakura moved back through the forest with her team she tried to figure out how she would confront Gaara later. She had avoided him as best as she could, she knew that he had noticed, and stayed as close to her teacher and team as she could. He would not attempt to talk to her around other people so she knew he would keep his distance for the time being. But nothing could save her tonight. He would come to her house and she would have no choice but to confess that she knew what he was and the type of power, and evil, that he possessed. She had until nightfall to figure it out, and until then she tried not to think about the look of evil in his eyes.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter End**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

_**I know this chapter is short but I thought it would be nice to have a little time with Sakura and Temari, and of course Sakura needed to finally see Gaara use his sand and sort through her thoughts on that. What will happen next…?**_


	10. First Touch

_**First Touch**_

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter Start**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Sakura sat in her chair, the plush cushion offering little comfort as she looked out the window. She was waiting for him. Her chair was in the path of the light from the night sky coming in her window and it shown faintly on her blank expression. Her parents were asleep and she could feel it, he was coming. She hugged her knees to her chest and stared out into the night.

She had been overwhelmed by her visit from, well, whatever that really was. It was nothing like her wildest imagination had ever come up with. The voice, that beautiful voice; so soft and pure, still clutched her heart as she recalled the way it had told her about Gaara's need of her. She could finally see it now, there was always something off about him but now the missing piece was there; Gaara was a host, and he was lost and needed to find his way back to himself. He had been led astray by the beast in his head and she offered him temporary salvation from the torment of wickedness and bloodlust.

She had been sitting in her room since she finished a quiet dinner with her parents waiting for his usual spontaneous arrival. She didn't see him before the third rounds and had needed some time to collect herself after words. She went straight home and tried to avoid him to the best of her abilities and used losing the exams as an excuse to explain her unusual behavior. But she knew that she only had so long before he would decide that she had been given enough time on her own and seek her out.

And she didn't have to wait long.

There was a sudden whirlwind of sand outside her window and Gaara emerged from the shifting cloud. He slid open her window, she had already unlocked it for him, and slid inside her dark room. When he stood he saw the look on her face and froze. Something was wrong with her, he could feel it.

She rose from her seat on the chair but did not move closer to him. She just stood there.

"What is it?" he asked flatly, not bothering with games.

"Why did you do that to Lee?" Her voice was flat and hurt.

He knew that she would be upset at the way he had treated her fellow ninja, but the bastard deserved it. No one had touched him before, no one had put him through an attack and actually did damage, it had shaken his brain and the things that had been knocked loose in his childhood seemed to rattle in his head, clanking and making the beast in his mind stir with excitement at his dwindling stability. "I had to."

She bit her lip as she recalled the sights she had seen during his fight, the look of bloodlust in his eyes, the confusion of being hurt, the excitement at the heat of battle, and immense waves of power that pulsed through the room. His brother had been next to Naruto during the fight, she had overheard him talking about Gaara and giving general description the attacks and defenses they were seeing before them.

"You were going to kill him…" she spoke in a whisper.

Gaara narrowed his eyes and tensed. "And?"

"Why?"

"Because, when he wouldn't go down it was my only choice to win the match. It was taking too long." His answer was simple and he hoped she would drop the subject.

"Don't give me that," she said as she shook her head. Sakura knew that wasn't his real reason, after being told of the beast in his head she knew his intentions where to kill Lee were for self-centered purposes. "I know what you are Gaara." Her voice was quiet and sure, but also very flat. He felt a pang in his gut. "I know that you're a host."

Gaara could feel himself become bitter and felt the anger of rejection rise within him. His jaw clenched as he spoke. "Who told you?"

"Does it really matter?" she questioned as she saw him go rigid.

"Yes! It does! It was my sister wasn't it?" he demanded, his voice filled with disgust on the word 'sister'. His hands fisted at his sides and she could feel his chakra churn in him from his anger.  
"Gaara, why didn't_ you_ just tell me?"

"Because no one wants to know," he spat at her, his voice laced with anger. "Everyone just ignores me to the best of their abilities and when they have to notice me all they do is hate me. I didn't want you to do the same."

"So you think I'm going to be just like all the others that treat you that way? You think I'm going to stoop that low? For Christ's sake I told you how I felt about all of this, about Naruto and everything! How could think so little of me!?"

Gaara didn't know how to respond to her outburst. He felt like he needed to lash out at her, like he had done to all the others. But no, he couldn't do that, there was no way he could bring himself to do it. The demon laughed at him, mocking him in his weakness. He desperately wished that he didn't have to live with that humiliation constantly in his head. Gaara stared at her, it was the only thing he could do.

Sakura saw the look in his eyes, panicked and guarded, she could understand why he had tried to keep it from her, she really did, but she felt that he didn't trust her enough. Which, in truth, was also understandable since they _were_ from different villages. But that didn't mean that it was still a letdown and that it still hurt.

Gaara clenched his jaw and spoke through tight lips, his voice was sharp. "You weren't supposed to find out." The beast laughed in his mind, taunting him with the possibility she would be just like all the other, scream at him, call him a monster, flee from him…hate him.

"So you were set on just lying to me until what?" she demanded. "Until I happened to see you snap and lose control of everything? Until I have to find out the hard way? When did _you_ think would be a good time to let me in on your little secret Gaara?"

His eyes were dangerous when they met hers. He was trying desperately to hold his temper, the Shukaku only begged him to snap like she had said. "Never."

She was shocked, completely taken over in disbelief. When she spoke he could see her eyes soften and become distant with pain. He cursed himself. "How could think that I would be like all the other people you knew?" It hurt her to think that he didn't see her as any different than those who shunned him for something he had no control over. Her voice became soft and weak. "Am I not different?"

Gaara didn't know what to say. He wanted to go back in time and tell her himself, if he had only known that's how she would have wanted it. He wanted to be angry and wreak havoc on this pitiful village to settle his nerves. Most of all, however, he wanted to run. He was confused, he didn't understand why the look of pain in her eyes made him hate himself, he couldn't make sense of why she made the anger and bloodlust disappear, and he didn't know how to interact with another person – with her – while still trying to keep their wellbeing and feelings in mind. He just wanted to find a hole in the ground, dig it as deep as he could, and curl up into a ball. He wanted to run and hide from the world, from his memories, from the very light of day, and most of all – hide from her. But he couldn't, not when she was standing right in front of him. He felt trapped.

"So what now?" he asked in a quiet voice, he looked to be almost shaking as he waited for her response.

"What do you mean?" she asked as she eyed his rigid figure.

"Are you going to tell me to leave?"

She shook her head. "Why would I do that?"

"Because everybody does Sakura, they keep their distance and stay far away." He lowered his eyes, they were burning with memories he had long ago tried to suppress. His jaw clenched and his voice became soft as he spoke, almost like he was only talking to himself. "Every last one of them."

Her voice became hushed and he had been so lost in his own mind that he didn't realize that she had moved closer to him. He snapped his attention to her, unsure of what she would do. He watched tentatively with subtle suspicion as she lifted her hand and cupped his cheek. He froze, not knowing what to do. "I'm not like them."

She leaned in and touched her lips with hers, her fingers sliding over his temples to weave through his unruly auburn hair, tugging it slightly to keep his lips in contact with her own. He wavered slightly and sucked in a breath. The beast in his head sighed in delighted content and urged him to respond to her. She had voluntarily sought him out; he didn't need to be _told_ to respond to her. He too sighed as sweet release washed over him, finally he could feel the softness of her lips and her hair, the frailty of her neck under his larger hands, the way she bent into him when he wound an arm around her waist and seemed to melt to her.

She could sense what was going on inside of him, he was fumbling for the perfect way to get as much contact with her as he could, trying to make up for years of never feeling contact in just one moment. She kissed him gently and she could feel him struggle to be gentle back. She didn't know why she had kissed him, it was impulsive of her and the only thing she thought about was the look of loneliness in his eyes. She wanted to take it away and if this was how she could than she was going to do it without complaint.

Gaara moved her backwards, forcing her to fall back onto her bed. He followed her motion fluidly and was above her in an instant. He held her head between his hands and she could practically feel the desperation pour from him. She didn't push him off like he had thought she would over his impulsive action, but instead she shifted under him, as if to get more comfortable. This only fanned the flame growing inside his mind. He didn't want her to go anywhere, she was right where he wanted her and he needed her to stay there for as long as possible. She was the closest thing he had ever come to affection and it was just as addicting as he imagined it would be. The memories of his visions kicked in and Gaara moved his lips slowly with hers, commanding the way they moved. He could have laughed, she was so easy to figure out. Once he became more confidant – which didn't take long since he _was _Gaara – he could practically drink away the resistance from her. He tilted her head and placed one last kiss on her lips before leaving them to explore her jaw line. She twisted her hands in his hair as his lips brushed against her pulse, it only served to make him shiver and shower her neck with attention with more purpose. He used one arm to support himself over her and the other to pull her closer. He had been kneeling over her and when he moved his lips back to her, molding them together, she shifted and parted her legs under him.

He didn't have much control over his body as he pressed her to him, relishing in her warmth. Upon feeling her tug him closer and draw her arms around him he parted his lips and swept his tongue over hers. It was too easy to get her to comply really, she was turning out to be just like the beast had hoped; willing and submissive.

She whimpered as he took control over her senses and couldn't help but pull him closer, his body heat was too tempting. It made the air feel cold and harsh but his warmth was like a fire in the winter; so warm and comforting. He had moved over her when she moved her legs to get more comfortable and she only wanted him closer. Sakura pulled her brow together and her features twisted into an expression that Gaara had never seen happen because of him. He didn't know what she was thinking per say, but she was damn good looking. Her cheeks flushed with heat and seeing her react just like he had wanted fed not only his desire, but also his ego as well.

He didn't want to stop, he couldn't even imagine stopping, but when she pulled him closer a pain shot through his neck. He winced and she stilled beneath him. He cursed that damn Lee he had fought. He was completely unaccustomed to the type of pain he was feeling, his jaw along with his neck and back ached from the beating he had taken. He had won the match – of course – but his blood still boiled at the thought that he had needed to work for his victory, and now the consequences of his efforts were interrupting what he was doing. He thought vaguely of how he wished he had been able to kill the stupid boy, and how he was going to one way or another.

Sakura's eyes fluttered open as he winced. She had figured he would be sore and hurting after his battle with Lee. She had never seen anything like their fight before; two amazing fighters almost equally matched. Gaara was constantly on the defensive without even trying and Lee was the first person to be fast enough to dodge his sand, and not to mention strong enough to withstand the damage he had taken. What she had seen frightened her, the way she had seen him take pleasure in toying with Lee and watching him squirm tore her heart between wanting Gaara to stay safe and holding her loyalty to the ninja of her home village. But right now, with Gaara here and no one else, she wanted to help him.

She sat up and she could see the displeasure with her movement in his eyes. "Where does it hurt?" she asked in a concerned voice.

Gaara, being ever defiant, insisted that he was fine and tried to claim her lips once again. She allowed him for a moment before pulling back and giving him a stern look.

"I'm serious Gaara," she said trying to keep her voice steady.

"So am I," he stated as he rested his head on her shoulder. There was just a hint of whining in his voice and Sakura had to choke down her giggle.

She let him nuzzle his nose to her shoulder and proceeded to stroke his neck and shoulders, pooling concentrated chakra in her hands and soothing his sore muscles. Gaara sighed; her hands were warm and they soothed his aching neck and shoulders, sending a wave of relaxation down his spine and he could feel it spread out to his nerves. It felt amazing. She smiled at him and kissed his forehead.

"That should help for a little while, but you should go and get some rest." Her words were simply meant to look out for him but he had taken it as she wanted him to leave. Upon hearing this he muttered a jumbled mess of disapproving words and only nuzzle closer to her. "Gaara you need some sleep, the final rounds are in a few days and you can't still be like this when you fight." This time he heard the concern in her voice but he also couldn't help but chuckle at her.

"What's so funny?" she demanded as he looked up at her.

"Sakura, I haven't slept in over a year. What makes you think I would start now?"

"What!" she exclaimed. "A year? Why on earth is that?"

Gaara just sighed, back to his old bored looking self. "Because I can't, I can't control him when I do." To make his point he tapped his temples, he could see the understanding creep across her face.

"But, Naruto can sleep. I don't understand…" her voice became small and distant. Gaara only rolled his eyes.  
"Some guys have all the luck."

She thought for a moment, unsure of what to say or do. She felt so bad for him, a life of solitude and constant distance from those around him, and on top of it all he couldn't even sleep it all away. He was constantly awake and dealing with the tortures of his life.

"I bet I could think of something," she suggested. There must have been something – somewhere – that she could manipulate to allow him to sleep without his demon taking control of him.

He only scoffed at her. "Good luck." He looked over at her and upon seeing her in thought over his demon couldn't help but give in to his curiosity. "Sakura?"

Her eyes snapped up to meet his. "Yeah?"

He really wanted her to tell him so he figured he might as well try again. "Who told you?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Sakura looked at him for a moment before reflecting back on the events that had taken place. "It said it was a messenger. I was visited in the forest."

'So it sought her out as well,' the demon spoke. 'Ask her why.'

Gaara complied with its wishes and she shrugged. "It told me about you, about what you've done and what you've been through. It said that you needed me for something."

"Have you told anyone about this?"

"Well," she said quietly. "Actually yes. Your sister talked to me a while before your match."

Gaara grumbled under his breath. "Of _course_ it was my sister…"

"She just wanted to make sure I knew what you were, it doesn't matter really," she urged, trying not to get him upset with Temari.

"And why exactly does it not matter?" he asked, his rising temper was evident in his voice.

"Because the spirit, or whatever it was, beat her to the punch. The cat was already out of the bag by the time she talked to me. How did she find out about you seeing me anyway?" she asked curiously.

"I told her," he said simply.

"Oh," she said quietly. "What, uh, what did she say?"

"Nothing much, just a lot of normal older sister things." He thought about his words and decided to choose them better. "At least what I would imagine is normal sister behavior."

Sakura thought for a moment over the conversation she had with Temari. She didn't come right out with her feelings but you could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice; she loved Gaara. It was heartbreaking to know that he didn't see it. She was proud of him and knew that he had great power and strength. Sakura could see it too. He had so much potential, so much that he could offer to the world if he could only learn to accept others they way that he had wanted them to as a child. If he could just learn to forgive the world of its faults than he could be one of the Greats. She just knew it.

Leaning over she rested her head on Gaara's shoulder, she felt him stiffen, but he didn't seem to want her to move away. It was a start. She moved and pushed him over, wrapping her harms around his torso and resting her head on his stomach. Gaara had slouched back on her bed and watched as Sakura squirmed to get comfortable. She snuggled her cheek to his chest and sighed as she relaxed. He rested his hand on her shoulder and stroked his thumb against her skin.

"Hey Gaara?" she mumbled.

"Hm?"

"Did you want to stay here tonight?"

He didn't answer right away but he knew he couldn't say no when she was the first person to touch him, the first person to break through the wall the he had put up around himself, the wall that others had helped him build. He hadn't noticed how much she affected him right away, but then again it's not like he tried to stop it once he found out either, he enjoyed getting to bother her and taunt her and still have her chose to be around him. It was much more fun than he had anticipated. He let her sink her way under his skin and make a home in his mind, and a very generous portion of him didn't really give a damn. He ran his fingers through her hair and spoke quietly. "When would I have to leave?"

She shrugged. "My parents go to work early tomorrow so if you don't want them possibly finding you here than probably early. But-" she looked up at him for a moment. "You could come back if you wanted. I don't have anything to do all day."

"I'll come back."

"Promise?" she asked with a playful tone. He nodded and leaned down to capture her lips, locking them in a light and slow kiss. She smiled as she rested her head against his chest once again. "Okay, that'll be nice."

Gaara watched as Sakura dozed off, her voice becoming quiet and more distant, her body gaining the weight of sleepiness and fatigue. He wished he could go to sleep with her and wake up to her face and have her smile at him as he greeted her in the morning. But no, he could never have that. He could only sit where he was and wait for her to wake. He watched her sleep in fascination and confusion; she had put down all her defenses after seeing what he could do, after being told what he was, and chose to be around him in her unprotected state of slumber. He had to laugh at his thoughts, she wasn't unprotected per say, if anyone tried to touch her they would meet a very gruesome and painful end.

….

Outside, hiding in the seclusion of the trees, a masked man watched over Sakura's house. He had seen Gaara enter her house and had been waiting for him to leave; he never did. He had been instructed to follow Gaara after his numerous nights of absence from his apartment. His teacher had wanted to know where he was going, he wanted to know what he was doing and who he may very well be killing. The masked man was shocked to see him go to one of the villages' weaker ninja, and woman no less.

'This isn't good,' he thought. 'Lord Kazekage will not be pleased with his boys' behavior.' The man sprung forth and raced through the streets back to his commander. He was going to need to prepare himself to take out the girl, if Gaara had been seeing her this whole time, he was going to be very upset to find out that she needed to be taken care of. There could be no threats to their mission.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× _**Chapter End**_ ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×


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